


A Jedi's Path

by Angeldoctor



Series: A Jedi's Path [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Star Wars: New Republic Era - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-15
Updated: 2014-03-21
Packaged: 2018-01-15 20:27:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 98,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1318087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angeldoctor/pseuds/Angeldoctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would happen if Harry Potter was born in the Star Wars universe? What if he met Jaina and Jacen at a young age? What if he became a Jedi? What would change? Strong Harry! Final Pairing: Harry/Jaina.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Friend

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 1

14 ABY, On route to Hethrir's worldcraft

Leia Organa Solo was a famous politician in the New Republic. She was known not only for her bravery and smarts but also for her ability to keep calm even in the most drastic of situations. 

Yet, at the moment none of that calm was visible on her worried face. Her children were missing and she extremely worried. Scratch that, Leia was downright frantic. Her children had disappeared on Montu Codru while she was on tour of the Outer Rim worlds. At first, the other nobles assured her it was part of their culture on the planet and her children would be returned to her unharmed. Its political system included ritualized "coup abductions" of noble children, who were later ransomed off unharmed so they simply thought this was one of those times. But after 3 days without a ransom demand, they finally accepted that it wasn't one of those “coup abductions” and that they truly had been kidnapped by forces unknown.

“What a surprise”, Leia muttered spitefully. It seems Han was rubbing off on her. 

She should have known something was wrong when she was no longer able to sense her children through the Force. While not trained or wanting to train as a Jedi, she was the child of Anakin Skywalker and her bond with her children was strong. The fact that that connection was dampened long enough for the children to be kidnapped should have told her it wasn't the usual harmless kidnapping.

Now was one of the few times Leia was glad for being a Force sensitive. With Chewbacca's help, she was able to track her children's abductor by the impressions they left in the Force as they passed. The feelings of fear and distress they left did not make her feel any better. Along the way, she had picked a Firrereo named Rillao who claimed to be the ex-wife of her children's kidnapper, a Firrereo named Hethrir. Apparently, she had attempted to flee her husband with her son but she was captured and her son stolen from her. They bonded together as only two concerned mothers could and joined forces to find their children.

“I hope they're alright,” Leia said under her breath.

\-------xxxxxxxxxx-----------

On Hethrir's worldcraft

“This sucks,” Jaina exclaimed as she sat down in her cell.

It had been a week since their parents supposed “death” and the Solo children had still to find a way to escape. It didn't help that neither Jacen nor Jaina had seen Anakin since they were captured either. It worried Jaina a lot what could be happening to their little brother and the fact she didn't even know where he was or if he was safe made her feel like a failure of an older sibling.

Jaina reached for that part of her that belonged to her twin, Jacen. While they could always sense each other in a way, they had only recently discovered they can use this bond to “reach” for each other and sense each other's feelings and general location. It helped during their captivity since despite physically separating them, they couldn't break their twin bond meaning they weren't truly alone.

Sensing her distress and anxiety, Jacen sent her feelings of comfort and assurance, somehow knowing what she was thinking of and assuring her they would all escape. However, Jaina took after her father and, unless frozen in carbonite, neither could stay still long so her twin's assurance didn't help her mounting frustration.

Jaina tried to think of a plan to escape but all of them required her to be able to escape her cell. They couldn't escape during the few times they were let out because they were constantly watched. While harassing the Proctors with the Force was one thing, outright beating them to escape was quite another. It didn't help that that man dampened their Force abilities every time they were in the same room as him.

Though she knew that pretending to act in a manner amenable to the rules would guarantee her more privileges as an Empire Reborn Helper and eventually a Proctor, she did the exact opposite. She was as rude and uncooperative to her superiors as possible at every turn, even using the Force to put sand in their food, while her brother Jacen helped by sending myrmin insects to harass them. Despite the drudgery of living in this situation, she had found a friend in Lusa, a female Chironian who had also been kidnapped.

Yet her friend had disappeared yesterday and she had no idea where she could be. She had even been transferred to another cell to prevent her from seeing where Lusa could be and while she didn't show it, Jaina was worried.

Worse, Vram had been especially mean today, picking on her and Jacen whenever he could and asking where her freakish friend Lusa was in mocking tones. They had entered an argument about whether her mother or Palpatine was the greatest leader of the galaxy which had almost degenerated into a fist fight.

It was obvious that Vram had been tricked. He had never even met Palpatine yet said he was the best leader in the galaxy. Jaina had met him once when she was but one year old and she'd never forget the way darkness radiated out of him. No, there was nothing good in Emperor Palpatine. He was a monster who had destroyed her mother's homeworld and billions of lives all at once. The galaxy was better off without him. 

Still, it was probably that that got her in her current predicament of being in a cell much further away from her brother. She had managed to squirrel away a multi-tool and had planned to use it to escape but now she had no idea where her twin was, much less Anakin. 

Jaina's frustration built until she let it out by aiming a kick at the wall closest to where she felt Jacen.

“Could you keep it down in there?” a voice responded irritably from the other side of the wall. “I'm trying to sleep.”

Jaina would later deny that she ever jumped and let out a girlish squeak of fright. “Who's there?” she asked in what she thought was a brave tone but was closer to a squeak than anything.

It was quiet for a moment and Jaina thought she was going insane when the voice spoke once more in a tired and exasperated tone.“Your next door cellmate,” the voice answered in a belligerent tone. “Now, if you don't mind I'm trying to get some sleep.”

“Are you a ghost?” After what happened with Palpatine possessing people's bodies she had gotten an intense fear of ghosts and other phantasms, fearing they'd posses her too. The fact the voice came out of nowhere made her think it was a ghost.

Silence was her answer and somehow she could sense the incredulous stare she was receiving from the owner of the voice. Of course, once you thought about it, she doubted a ghost would answer her or would being trying to sleep. But the surprise of having a next door cellmate who could hear her kick and was snarky enough to complain despite what they're going through had momentarily forzen her faculties.

“Yes, I died and decided to haunt the cell next to you,” the voice answered in an obviously sarcastic tone.

His sarcastic and mocking tone irritated Jaina since it reminded her of Vram nad for a moment, she thought that whoever the owner of the voice was, he was a Herder like him. Plus, Jaina was a Solo and she firmly believed that Solo are sarcastic to others not the other way around!

“Well, how come this is the first I've heard of you?” Jaina asked impudently. She thought she'd heard and seen all of her fellow captives yet she'd never heard of this boy before. Maybe he really was a Herder and had simply been in another part of this place?

That belief was destroyed by his next words. “.... because our dear holder has paid special attention to my... beliefs,” the voice answered in a low tone. “Apparently I'm too defiant and needed special... attention to bring me in line. Not that it worked.”

Jaina instantly winced at his words. Their “hold-father” had recently gotten violent whenever they refused to follow his every instruction and belief. If this boy, because the voice sounded like a boy's, was given special attention then he must be especially rebellious and important for some reason.

“Are you okay?,” Jaina asked hesitantly. She could still feel the bruises from her last 'lesson' and that only lasted for a few minutes. She hated to think of how this boy would be if he'd been under his care for any longer.

“...nothing a good night's rest won't fix,” he answered in a reassuring tone. It calmed Jaina and for some reason, she believed him.

“So... what's your name?” Jaina asked in what she hoped was a bright and happy tone. Maybe he could help her escape from this place if he had been here long enough to know the layout.

“...Harry Potter, how about you?” the newly revealed Harry answered. He sounded as if he was no longer half-asleep and was actually eager to talk now. She wondered how long he'd been alone to sound so eager to talk to a perfect stranger.

“I'm Jaina Solo, pleasure to meet you,” Jaina responded happily. Trying to make light of their situation, Jaina tried to make a joke. “So Harry, what you in for?”

“...for being a freak,” Harry answered in what he probably thought was so low she couldn't hear. She could sense an undercurrent of hurt and anger in his tone when he said it, confusing Jaina a lot.

Jaina frowned at him calling himself a freak. It reminded her of Vram calling Lusa a freak and it angered her. “You're not a freak, Harry,” said Jaina forcefully. “Vram is an idiot and an ass if he called you that and you shouldn't listen to him. He just hates non-Humans.”

She heard Harry chuckle at that. “Actually, I'm Human too and it wasn't him who called me that. But as to how I got here. My... uncle... sold me to our dear hold-father a few weeks ago,” Harry said in a false careless tone. “I've been here ever since. They've tried to break me but I'm tougher than I look.”

“O-Oh,” Jaina said brokenly. The idea of him not being kidnapped but to actually have your own family sell you like merchandise horrified. While she didn't get to see her parents often, she always knew they lover her. Even her mother, who she wasn't as close to as her father, showed she loved her. It really gave her a new perspective on her relationship with her parents and made her feel guilty for the times she thought they didn't love her. Then something he said clicked and she whirled toward the wall with an incredulous look. “Wait, you've been here for weeks?!”

“Yea, why?” questioned Harry curiously.

“Well, why haven't you tried to escape?” asked Jaina suspiciously. After all, Jacen and her had tried to escape from day one and have only failed due to lack of knowledge of the worldcraft. So in her mind it was impossible for someone who had been here weeks and by all accounts was rebellious and more knowledgeable of the craft to not have escaped. She conveniently forgot about her brother and her having Force powers and still failing to escape.

“... and go where?” Harry asked in a defeated tone. “I have nowhere else to go. My aunt and uncle proved they wanted nothing to do with me already.”

“Well, then we'll go find your parents, of course!” she exclaimed as though it was obvious. “I'm sure they're worried about you since you've been gone at your relatives for so long.”

Silence greeted her. Somehow, she got the feeling that she had said the wrong thing and was proven right by Harry's answer.

“.... my parents are dead,” he answered in a flat tone.

Jaina flinched at that. She had thought his parents had simply left him at his relatives' house like her parents did sometimes with Winter. She hadn’t actually thought they were dead. “Are you sure, because that's what Hethrir said and...” Jaina began slowly.

“My uncle was the one who told me and he's the one who's been.. raising me as long as I can remember,” Harry interrupted. “I don't even remember my parents.”

Jaina felt chagrined. 'Good going Jaina, remind him of his dead parents! Why don't you just ask him to brain himself dead next time!' 

“I'm sorry,” she said apologetically. “I can't imagine not knowing your parents.”

“Not your fault,” he answered quickly. “You didn't know and I'm over it by now.”

Jaina knew that last part was a lie but was tactful enough not to point it out. They were silent for a while but now that Jaina found someone to talk to she wasn't about to stay silent. If anything, maybe Harry could be her and her brothers' ticket out of here.

“So, how'd they die?” Jaina asked. 'What's wrong with you Jaina?! Even Anakin would know that's mean to ask!' She thought.

“My uncle said they died from drug overdose and that they were useless layabouts,” he answered after a minute of silence. It seemed he was just as desperate to talk to anyone if he was willing to talk about his parents' death.

Jaina cringed further at his deadpan tone. 'Oh yea, you'll be a great Jedi someday. Why don't you just hand him a blaster and tell him to off himself?' She thought sarcastically to herself.

“But I don't believe it,” Harry said suddenly, breaking her from her thoughts.

“Huh?” Jaina asked questioningly.

“I don't know why but.. I believe they were good people,” Harry said forcefully. “I don't have proof but... I just know it.”

Jaina smiled. It was good to know that she wasn't the only one that didn't believe everything she was told. For the next hour, they just talked about things. Likes, dislikes and even had a small spat over who would be the better pilot. Jaina just knew he would come around and accept the truth with time. 

Eventually, Jaina got to what she wanted to talk about. “Harry, how well do you know the layout of this place?” If he didn't know it then it would all be a waste anyway so better to know ahead of time. She'd still help him escape but it would be better if one of them knew where to go.

“Pretty well,” answered Harry much to her joy. “At least, I've been here long enough to know where they usually place all the other kids our age. Force only knows how many times I've been moved from cell to cell.”

Jaina felt like jumping in joy at his words. That was great! “That's great! Look, I can get us out if you can lead me to my twin brother. We'll make our way out of this place and maybe steal a ship to escape. My parents are no doubt looking for us so they'll be here soon.”

It was silent for a moment before Harry spoke. “You sure they're coming for us?”

“Positive,” assured Jaina. Well, they were coming for her, Jacen and Anakin but she knew her parents wouldn't abandon Harry to his fate if he came with them.

“Okay then,” said Harry eventually. “Let's do it. We'll have to hurry because it'll only take them an hour at most to realize we're gone. They do hourly checks every night, after all.”

Jaina agreed and quickly got to work on the lock of her door. Luckily, the hourly check had been five minutes ago so they had at least fifty five more minutes before their escape was found.

Jaina made quick work of her lock and walked into the passageway before going to work on Harry's. Within five minutes of their escape starting, she had released her new friend and opened the door to his cell, getting her first glimpse of Harry.

He was shorter than she expected with him being a year older than her. He was about equal to her in height and she accepted, in the confines of her mind, that she was shorter than average. She blamed her mother's genes. He had a wild head of hair that seemed like he just got out of bed, which was a possibility, that was as black as the space between stars. He was thin, maybe due to the lack of good food they've been given here but somehow she suspected that was only half-true. All of this she noticed after because it was his eyes that captured her first.

His eyes were an intense emerald green that seemed to stare into your soul. She felt naked before his gaze and all her bravado left her. Then, his eyes warmed up and she suddenly felt better.

“Nice to finally see you,” Jaina said cheekily getting a smile from her new friend.

“Nice to see you too. Now let's go free your brother before we're found.”

Nodding her head in agreement, Jaina followed behind Harry as he unerringly led them through the maze of corridors. Jaina was pleasantly surprised by how well he knew the layout, easily leading them around the patrols and toward her brother's cell without encountering any guards.

Eventually, they reached the hallway where her brother was located. Using her Force bond with her brother, Jaina found his cell and easily undid the lock with her multi-tool.

Jacen walked out with a smile. “What took you so long, Yaya? You losing your touch?”

Jaina glared at her twin's words. “For your information, they placed me on the other side of this place and I had no idea how to find you. Luckily, Harry here was my next door cellmate and he knows the place's layout. Now all we need to do is get out of here and wait for Mom to rescue us.”

Jacen turned to Harry with a smile. “Hey, pleasure to meet you. I'm Jacen.”

“Harry.” Harry turned to Jaina anxiously. “Not to be a pushy bastard but we really need to get going. They might have decided to do an earlier round by now and find us.”

“You're right,” said Jaina decisively. “Can you lead us to the exit?”

Harry nodded confidently. “The quickest way is through the hangar doors and I can get them open. Once we're through there we'll be home free in the jungle around here. We can hide there until your parents arrive.”

Just then, a Proctor arrived and saw them standing outside Jacen's door. “What are you three doing out here?”

Quickly thinking of a plan, Harry pushed the twins back into Jacen's cell before sticking his tongue out at the Proctor. “None of your business, you old fart!”

The Proctor saw red and ran into the cell after them only to trip over a kneeling Harry on all fours and falling to the floor with a huff. Harry quickly got up, grabbed the Proctor's radio and ran out of the cell with the twins before locking the cell door behind him.

“Sorry, but we'll have to be going,” said a smug Jaina. “See you next time, loser.”

With a smile, the three proceeded to release the other kidnapped children and lead them toward freedom. They only stopped once at Jacen's insistence to offer Vram a chance at freedom but he rejected it in their faces. Harry had then slammed the door on Vram's face at that before leading them toward the hangar.

The large group of children reached the hangar doors quickly and Jaina turned to Harry expecting him to have a tool that'll break open the hangar doors or something. Instead, Harry took out.. a spoon. Jaina's jaw dropped and Jacen wasn't much better. A spoon?! What in the Force will he do with that?!

Harry ignored the look on the twin's faces and concentrated on the hangar lock . Suddenly, the twins felt the Force gather around as Harry stared at the door. It gathered around Harry in a volume almost equal to their own when suddenly, Harry hit the door with the spoon right above the door lock while channeling the Force through the spoon. When nothing happened, Jaina stared at him.

“What was that supposed to...” Jaina began but she was cut off by a sharp and familiar crack. She look at the door and noticed that the hangar lock had been broken and the hangar doors were opening.

“How did you..” Jaina started.

“No time, let's go,” interrupted Harry and ran off with Jacen and the large crowd of escapees.

Narrowing her eyes at her friend's back, Jaina huffed before running after them. By that time, the alarms were sounding, showing their captors were aware of their escape.

The crowd stopped in front of the large sand dragon Jacen had befriended a few days ago, not sure what to do. The sand dragon was a large carnivorous reptile. It had a huge head with massive sharp jaws, large eyes, four thick, muscular legs and a short heavy tail with a spiked knob. It had a mixture of pink, tan and black scales to help it blend in in its favored habitat of the desert.

“What do we do now?” asked Harry unsurely. “I don't think he's going to let us through easily.”

Jacen bit his lip while concentrating on the air. “I think I can befriend it but I need something to distract it while I work. I can make a light to distract it but I can't do that and befriend it at once.”

Harry narrowed his eyes in thought. “How do you make the light?”

“You have to manipulate the molecules in the air to accelerate till it makes heat and light,” explained Jacen slowly. “It sounds harder than it is. All you need to do is-”

Jacen was cut off by the sight of light and heat radiating in the air in front of Harry, much like what Jacen was explaining. There was a scrunched up look on Harry's face as he concentrated on maintaining his creation. “You might want to hurry it up, Jacen. I can't hold this forever and I think I got your friend's attention.”

Sure enough, the dragon was concentrating on Harry and ignoring everyone else. Taking advantage of this, Jacen slowly approached the dragon and used the Force to befriend it. Everyone watched with bated breath as Jacen did his work and let out a cheer when the dragon lowered his head to allow them to get on its back.

Harry released his creation and the entire group got on the dragon's back. At one point, Jacen released his bat in the air and then led the dragon through the bushes until they eventually reached an artificial stream. Tired from the escape, Jacen stopped there so the group could eat berries and rest.

After the group had eaten and rested, the three instigators gathered to make a plan.

“So what do we do now?” asked Harry curiously. “I mean, it won't take them long to find us and we need to stay ahead long enough for your parents to arrive. But at the same time, if we move around too much they won't be able to find us. So what do we do?”

Both Jaina and Jacen looked unsure and bit their lips in thought. “Can't we just stay here until Mom finds us?” asked Jacen, unsure of what to do. “It's not like they'll find us for a long while, right?”

As if to contradict his statement, they suddenly heard people yelling and approaching their location. The other children yelped in terror and gathered around them in fear, thinking they'd be captured again.

Harry looked around and spotted a small path through the bushes, too small for a full-grown adult to walk easily. It was their only choice if they didn't want to get captured.

“There!” said Harry pointing out the path. “We'll crawl through there. Come on! Before they reach us!”

“But what about Mistress Dragon?” cried out Jacen even as the other children started crawling down the path through the bushes.

Harry and Jaina gave Jacen an incredulous look at his name for the monstrous creature. “What?” asked Jacen, defending his naming ability. “It fits!”

Harry and Jaina rolled their eyes and the latter spoke. “Forget her, Jac! She'll be fine! We're the ones who need to escape!”

Jacen looked like he was about to argue but eventually relented, following behind Jaina and Harry as they crawled through the bushes just as the Proctors burst into the clearing. Behind them, they heard Mistress Dragon roar and attack the Proctors, the children giving a silent prayer that she'd be alright.

The group continued to crawl through the bushes, barely staying ahead of their captors. Eventually they all came out in front of a large and impassable field of mud. The trio stopped at the edge of the field as the other children who managed to make it this far crowded around them.

“Now what?” asked Harry as he heard the Proctors get closer.

Jacen and Jaina nodded to each other before reaching out with the Force. Before the amazed eyes of everyone there, they saw the field of mud start to freeze and a path form to the other side where a hollow tree was located.

Once the path was stable enough, the group rushed across it, barely ahead of their captors. Harry was at the very back and, realizing that their captors would use the path themselves, used his newly discovered heat skill to slightly melt the frozen mud behind him. It worked and the Proctors reached the center of the field before the ice broke under them, trapping them in the center.

With the children, the group reached the hollow tree and slowly climbed it to the very top, Jacen and Jaina in the lead. Harry brought up the rear and helped the weaker children climb so none of them would fall and accidentally hurt themselves.

“Now what?!” yelled Jacen in fear. The mud wouldn't hold the Proctors for long and even if they did, more could always come from another direction and get them up here.

As if answering his question, their mother's ship Alderaan, appeared out of the cloud bank before heading in their direction.

“It's Mom!” yelled out Jaina happily. She looked down at her new friend with a large smile. “We're safe, Harry!”

Harry could only smile as the walkway opened at the top of the tree and the twins got on. One by one, the escapees made their way onto the ship until eventually Harry was the last one on.

He was met by a pretty older woman with light skin, deep brown hair and brown eyes waiting for them at the top.

“Are you the last one?” asked Leia urgently.

Realizing she was asking about her youngest child, Harry frowned and nodded apologetically. “Yes Ma'am. I'm sorry but we couldn't find Anakin.”

Leia's face turned sad before a determined look came to her face. She pressed the intercom and spoke. “Chewie, fly us to those men in the mud field. Maybe they'll know where my son is.”

Harry gulped at the determined look on Leia's face and made an internal promise to never get on her bad side. Passing by the angry mother, Harry walked toward the twins after making sure all the other kids were okay.

“I'm sorry about your brother,” said Harry lowly. “We should have spent more time searching for him.”

Jaina just smiled reassuringly. “Don't worry. Mom will find him and then everything will be fine again.”

Harry smiled thinly as he wondered what that meant for him. “I hope so.”

\---------xxxxxxxx----------

Solo residence, Three days later

After finally rescuing Anakin from Waru and stopping Hethrir permanently, the Solo parents went around returning the kidnapped children to their extremely grateful parents. Eventually, only Harry was left and after they discovered just what his life before Hethrir was like and why he didn't want to return, the adults gathered to discuss what to do.

“Well, we certainly can't return him to his relatives,” Leia stated forcefully. They had been told by Jaina what Harry had said about his uncle and aunt and remembered how eager Harry had been to not return. None of that boded well for his former living arrangements.

“No, ain't that the truth,” Han agreed. The only reason Han wasn't hunting Harry's uncle to give him a piece of his mind was because he didn't know where he was. Harry had remained tight-lipped about that, possibly fearing they'd return him by force if he told them.

“Return who to his relatives,” asked Luke who had just arrived. He had been talking to the parents of the last child to offer them a chance to be Jedi in the future if they wanted. So far, the results had been positive, grateful for their child's rescue. There would be a large influx of Jedi students in the future and he made plans on expanding the Academy.

The Solos greeted Luke and quickly caught him up on everything he didn't know.

“He's in the twin's room right now,” Han stated. He wasn't blind to how quickly the twins had bonded with Harry, though he didn't blame them. Harry was easy to love and kind to everyone.

“That must be the Force presence I felt when I was arriving,” Luke stated thoughtfully.

“What do you mean, you sensed?” queried Leia suspiciously.

Luke raised his eyebrows at his sister in surprise. “Can't you sense his Force potential?” Luke asked skeptically. “His presence shines just as bright as the twins.”

That brought them up short. Luke had previously stated that the twins had Force potential equal to his own. If Harry's was equal to theirs...

“You aren't planning to train him now right?” Leia asked forcefully. “He's too young, he needs a childhood. Especially after what his childhood was like from what we've heard.”

“No, but what else can we do?” Luke asked calmly. “We don't have a legal reason to keep him and if we don't...”

He didn't have to say anything more. The galaxy was a harsh place for a young boy, especially a young Force-sensitive. He could be found by hundreds of other factions who want him for his Force potential and the idea of a Sith finding him with his potential.... well, it was chilling to say the least.

“We'll ask him,” Han decided finally. Seeing their faces, Han got a stubborn look on his face. “It's his life and he has a right to decide just as much as any of us do. So we'll ask him his opinion.”

All three adults agreed and moved up the stairs towards the twins' room. When they arrived, it was to the funny sight of Jaina trying to convince Harry she would be the better pilot cause she was a girl. Harry looked amused at her statement and stated that that means Leia is the better pilot of her parents if that was true. Jacen was rolling around on the floor in laughter at their argument while Anakin was just ignoring them and doing something in the corner.. Luke cleared his throat to get their attention.

“Uncle Luke!,” Jaina exclaimed gleefully. She proceeded to hug her favorite uncle, ignoring the fact he was her only uncle.

“Uncle Luke, you agree that I'm gonna be the better pilot right?” Jaina said, using her puppy dog eyes to convince him. Luke only chuckled at her actions, long used to her attempts to get him to side with her during her arguments with Jacen.

“We came here to ask Harry here something,” Han stated before they could get off-tangent.

Harry looked at them nervously and said, “What did you want to ask?” Beside him, Jaina and Jacen also looked at the adults curiously.

“Well, we were wondering if you would like to be trained as a Jedi,” Luke asked before Leia could stop him.

“You don't have to honey,” Leia said glaring at her brother who looked unfazed. “You're welcome to stay with us either way.”

Harry had gone quiet. He was wide-eyed and looked from one adult to the other to see if they were serious. After a minute of silence, he spoke.

“Are you sure you want a freak like me?” he asked hesitantly.

This statement angered the adults. The anger wasn't directed at Harry but at the fact that, according to Harry, his own uncle constantly called him freak and the only reason he knew his name was because Harry had heard his uncle call him that once before he was sold.

“You're not a freak, Harry,” Luke stated. To his credit, you could hardly detect the tremor in his voice from repressed anger. “And your uncle was wrong to call you that.”

Jacen looked from Harry to Uncle Luke. This was the first he had heard of Harry's treatment and in his young mind he didn't understand why his uncle was so mean.

“Wait a minute,” Jaina interrupted, “you mean he can use the Force too? Is that what you did to break the doors?”

The adults looked at Harry. This was the first they'd heard of Harry breaking doors by himself. Harry wouldn't meet their eyes.

“Harry,” Luke asked in a comforting tone, getting Harry to look up at him. “What do the twins mean?”

At first, it looked like he wasn't going to answer. Then he answered in a low tone that they had to force themselves to hear. “I can sometimes see... cracks... in things... in people,” he began. “Places where, if I hit it just right and I concentrate, I can make even the hardest stuff break and the impossible... happen.”

Han and Leia just looked confused and looked toward Luke. Luke on the other hand was wide-eyed and mouth agape. Seeing the great Jedi master like that brought laughter to the other adults. Luke eventually composed himself, shot a dirty look toward his sister and her husband and answered Harry.

“That is a very rare and unique gift,” Luke stated with a slight smile. “It just means you have something that makes you different but not worse than others, understand?”

Harry's eyes got wet and he sniffed, once. He managed to stop himself from crying though and nodded his head at Luke. Luke, Han and Leia started whispering in low tones among themselves. After reaching an agreement, Luke turned to Harry.

“We've decided,” Luke announced. “You'll stay with Han and Leia and then when you're all old enough, you'll join the academy.”

Harry smiled and asked, “Really?” His tone was so heart-breaking that Han and Leia lost any opposition they might have had.

“Sure, why not?” Han confirmed. “We need more guys here to balance out Leia and Jaina. Ow!” The last part was because Leia had smacked his arm for his comment.

“Officially, you'll be my charge but you'll live with Han and Leia since I'm always on the move and I have too many responsibilities,” explained Luke, ignoring the normal banter between Han and Leia. He was long used to it by now. “Don't worry. I visit a lot so it's not like you won't see me.”

“Welcome to the family kiddo,” Han said, messing with Harry's hair.

Harry smiled shyly at his words while behind him, the twins whooped in joy.


	2. Welcome to the Jedi Praxeum

**21 ABY, Coruscant avenues**

Seven years had passed since Harry had joined the Solo family. Over the years, he had fit in well with the family and become as much a part of it as their own children. Now a thirteen year old, Harry had easily fit into the Solo family and like the rest, he was a picture of grace, patience and understanding.....

“I'm gonna make you eat my space dust this time, Jay-Jay!” Harry exclaimed at Jaina who was piloting the taxi beside his own.

….or maybe not.

Harry had grown up well over seven years. With good meals and haphazard Jedi training from both his adoptive parents, he had grown to a respectable height for his age although his hair still looked a Corellian falcon's nest no matter what was done to it (much to Leia's eternal chagrin). He had a swimmer's physique and was very fast. Leia often stated that he was going to be a lady killer when he grew up, not that he understood what she meant until he hit puberty.

“Only if I pilot blindfolded and go at half speed you overgrown ewok!” responded the aforementioned Jay-Jay, otherwise known as Jaina Solo. Jaina had also grown into a pretty young girl of twelve with her mother's dark brown hair, brown eyes and fair skin. Already at twelve, she was turning heads and making men wonder if she'd inherit her mother's beauty.

Harry and Jaina were once again having a “friendly” competition between them on who was the better pilot. These were kind and respectable races where both acted the very pinnacle of honor and friendly racing....

“Get off my exhaust port!,” screamed Harry as he slammed his “borrowed” air taxi into Jaina's. Passing pilots looked on in shock as Harry slammed his taxi into Jaina's without fear of anything happening.

...yes, very friendly.

“Make me!” she screamed back as she slammed back into him. 

You're probably wondering where Anakin and Jacen are. Well, every pilot needs a copilot so....

“Woo-hoo, go Jaina, show him Solos are the best pilots in the galaxy!” screamed Jacen. He had been 'persuaded' (read forced) into being Jaina's copilot. Jaina told him it was because he was the best man for the job and there was no one she would trust more as her co-pilot. The truth was that Anakin had already been drawn to the “dark side” (otherwise known as Harry's) and Jacen was the only one left. So here they were on Jaina's and Harry's 515th race to break the tie they were currently in (the score was 248 wins each and 18 draws). Of course they had a completely impartial judge...

“Please stop this madness!!!” screamed C-3PO from his “eagle-eye view” of being magnetically attached to the roof of Jaina'a air taxi. Artoo whistled his joy at the speed from the backseat of Harry's air taxi. Threepio was meant to be jaina's impartial judge while Artoo was Harry's. While artoo had agreed readily enough, Threepio had needed some.... persuasion.

“Oh, stop being a pussycat Threepio!” yelled Jaina while keeping her eyes on the 'racetrack'. “You've been worse scrapes than this so man up already!”

Threepio made sounds of sobbing as he prayed he wouldn't fall off. “But I'm not a man, I'm a droid!”

In Harry's air taxi, he was getting plenty of encouragement from his co-pilot. “Go Harry, we're totally gonna leave them in the dust this time, I've managed to get reconfigure the engine so it gives out more power!” Anakin encouraged.

Jaina heard this and glared at her twin. “Why can't you be as useful as Anakin?!” she demanded.

“Excuse me, if I'm better with LIVING creatures!” Jacen screamed back. It was a running joke that Jacen was the only one of the family that wasn't good with mechanics and if it wasn't for being Jaina's twin and the color of his hair, would probably be confused as the adopted one instead of Harry. It probably didn't help that the one time he was given a engine to tinker with, he tried to use it as a zoo for his more “exotic” pets. Leia still won't eat any soup for fear of something alive still being inside it.

The “racecourse” was also known as Coruscant's busiest airway during rush hour, which just so happened to be right now. It lead from the Senate building to the former Jedi temple. The Solo-raised children ignored the screams and death threats from passerby by dint of years of practice.

“Only 100 yards to go!” Harry screamed in joy as he saw the finish line approaching. The fact he was currently in the lead by about a foot also helped.

They were currently neck-to-neck and this final stretch would decide the winner of seven years of races and arguments over who was the better pilot. 'This is it,' Harry thought as they approached the finish line.

“What are you two doing?!” screamed a familiar, and terrifying, voice over the comm that made Harry pale in utter terror. The distraction proved enough to make Harry jerk at the controls allowing Jaina the two meter lead for the victory.

“YESSS! Sweet victory!!!,” screamed Jaina joyfully, having missed the voice of her Aunt Mara over the comm unit.

Jaina's exclamation made Harry temporarily forget what just happened as he turned to Jaina in denial.“I demand a repeat, outside interference!” denied Harry.

“Don't be a sore loser Harry!” mocked Jaina teasingly. “It's not MY fault you're imagining things.”

“Imagining what dear niece?” asked a deceptively calm voice over the comm.

Everyone paled as the owner of said voice registered in their minds. Now that the adrenaline had left her system, Jaina remembered hearing the voice of her Aunt Mara earlier as well. Hearing it now, all four children reacted exactly the same thanks to years of similar situations.

“Evasive maneuvers!” all four screamed in unison while trying to escape.

However, it was far too late. Mara had used the Force to turn off the commandeered air taxis and park them by the former Jedi Temple's entrance (the finish line). By the time they could turn it back on (especially since they didn't know the clearance codes to turn it on in the first place; they had to “borrow” two that where already on) they would be caught. Mara was currently on the Jade Sabre which had a tractor beam custom-built in. Therefore, they went to plan B.

“He/She started it!” screamed Jaina and Harry while pointing at each other. “No I didn't, you did!” they defended in unison.

By now, Mara had reached the bottom of the ramp and was staring at them partially in amusement and partially in anger.“Enough! Leave the taxis there and get on the Jade Sabre now!” Mara said forcefully.

The Jade Sabre was Luke's wedding present to Mara. It was a custom-built and modified shuttle in the form a blade, complimented by two flared side pods that protected its ion drives. The Jade Sabre required a single pilot to operate, but the ship was designed to carry up to fifteen passengers and up to one hundred metric tons of cargo. For defenses Luke armed the ship with four concealed quad laser cannons and a tractor beam projector. The latter was what had keep their ships from escaping until Mara used the Force to turn them off. 

Harry once said it had more modifications than a Jedi Master Yoda's lightsaber (he assumed that Yoda must have modified it over his 900 year life). The children dragged their feet out of the taxis and reluctantly moved up the ramp. Mara was currently at the top of the ramp tapping her foot and glaring at her almost-son and his cousins.

“Leia leaves you all for a weekend and you take advantage of it to have another race,” Mara said reprovingly. Secretly, she found these races amusing if not terrifying with how dangerous they could get. Yet she never did much to actually stop them since she knew it was a bonding experience between Harry and the Solos.

“But Moooom,” argued Harry in his best 'I'm a good son and you love me' voice. “Jaina said that Uncle Han was a better pilot than you therefore she was obviously the better pilot by dint of having a better teacher. I was only defending your honor!”

When Mara and Luke started dating in earnest, Harry was initially hesitant around her. His experiences with mother figure in the form of his Aunt Petunia hadn't exactly left him with a positive image and the fact she was a former Emperor's Hand didn't help. 

However, after Mara gave him some lightsaber training in Makashi (he didn't like Ataru saying it didn't feel right), they hit it off so well that people sometimes confused them for true mother and son. Mara only knew the basics to Makashi but Harry took to it like a Solo to piloting as Han would say. He was a natural and declared he would overcome it's weaknesses to blasters and multiple opponents. Seeing his skill with it as well as Harry's near psychic-like precognition in battle, Mara had no doubt he would.

Mara would remember the first time Harry called her Mom as the happiest and most terrifying moment in her life.

\-----------xxxxxxxx-----------

**Flashback (19 ABY)**

Harry and Mara had just finished another lightsaber practice session. Leia was initially reluctant to start him on such a dangerous skill so young, being only ten years old when he started, but after seeing how much Harry enjoyed it (not to mention how much it calmed him down afterwards) she relented. Although she made Mara swear that she'd never give him a REAL lightsaber until after he started the Academy and Luke approved.

“So how am I doing?” Harry eagerly asked. They had been practicing intermittently for over a year now. The practice sessions were sparse, not only because she rarely had time to dedicate solely to Harry (between Luke, recent wedding plans, her Jedi duties, and spending time with the Solo children) but also because she believed that Harry shouldn't spend all his time training. After all, he was still young. So the training sessions were usually once a month.

“Pretty good,” Mara responded. “Soon, I won't be able to teach you more on Makashi since I only know the basics. It's too much of a fencer's style for me.”

Harry stuck out his tongue at her for looking down on his favorite style. Despite his cocky demeanor at times (which he got from his Uncle Han) as well as his outgoing nature (shown in his various escapades with the Solos), in combat or in a stressful situation he was instantly calm and analytical. Probably a result of his ability to see shatterpoints, she mused. 

When Luke first told her about his inherent ability, she laughed it off as impossible. After all, the only person recorded to have the ability was regarded as the greatest swordsman and a Jedi Master of the Old Republic. It seemed impossible for a child to have it. Then came her first sparring session with Harry.

As she was facing a ten-year-old, she decided to use Shii-cho with her training lightsaber. After all, he was only a kid and it was his first time using a training lightsaber. She first noticed that he didn't seem all that uncomfortable wielding a lightsaber. In fact, he used it like it was an extension of him; something of a trait only among experienced users. They started to spar and as expected she easily beat him every time. Hoever, she got complacent and overreached by half a millimeter in a swing and he was on her instantly. If it wasn't for her experience he would have disarmed her. She called a stop soon after.

“How did you do that?” she asked/demanded. She knew how but wanted to make sure she wasn't just imagining things.

Harry looked down and responded in a low tone. “I saw a crack... and I took advantage.”

Mara was instantly speechless. It was true! The kid could see shatterpoints! He was able to use this ability to instantly see a split-second flaw in her form and take advantage. 

After that, she eagerly kept training Harry. When he asked her for a style that was more precise, she started to teach him Makashi. It fit him like a glove. The fencer's style was perfect when combined with his speed and ability to see shatterpoints. At least until he managed to recreate Vaapad, she mused to herself.

Back in the moment, Mara ruffled Harry's hair. They were on the sidewalk when she remembered that she left her pack in the apartment. “Wait a sec, I forgot my stuff inside, I'll be right back.” She hurried inside to get her pack. Just as she reached it, she heard two unmistakable sounds that chilled her to the bone. The sound of a blaster firing and the sound of a lightsaber reflecting a blaster bolt. 

“MOM!!!” Harry screamed in fear.

She was off like a shot. She jumped out of the window of the apartment she rented for their practice sessions, empty of furniture and anything that can make you stumble, and landed in front of Harry on the sidewalk and in between him and what was obviously a bounty hunter with her real lightsaber on. Harry was lying on his back on the sidewalk and staring scared at the bounty hunter. He had managed to block the first shot due to luck and his incredible Force senses but hadn't been quick enough to dodge a second to his right leg. 

Mara growled at the bounty hunter that dared attack someone that she instantly categorized as HER child. Needless to say, the bounty hunter died painfully.

**Flashback end**

\----------xxxxxxxxx---------

Since then, she had become fiercely protective of Harry and spent as much time with him as possible. She even insisted that he be one of the ushers along with Jacen on the wedding a month later. One would think that because he spent more time with Leia, he would regard HER as his mother. However, due to her various duties that kept her away as well as other reasons, he couldn't see her in that role. Since he was almost always with his cousins, this also allowed Mara to get close to them as well.

“I'm glad you defended me, Harry but maybe next time don't defend me by committing grand theft auto,” Mara responded dryly. Seeing him about to respond, she continued. “Or do I have to give you another private lightsaber training session.” Mara had an evil grin as she watched all four pale.

A year ago, she had caught them in another race (this time with swoop bikes; don't ask how they got them). She almost had a heart attack when Harry had a near crash due to the race. She pretended to congratulate them on good flying and offered Harry a special lightsaber training session. He instantly agreed thinking that he got away with it. To this day, he would remember that training and shiver in terror. Harry insists that his left butt cheek hasn't felt the same since. His very vivid description of the training made the Solo children swear to never have a private lightsaber training session with her.

“No, I promise it'll be the last time,” Harry promised quickly. This year, mother and son thought in unison. One in amusement and the other in exasperation. They both knew Harry and Jaina not racing was like the stars not shining. Impossible.

“Come on, Luke and Leia are back early,” Mara said gesturing them to get on. “We need to hurry since it sounded important.” Hearing that, they followed quickly, not wanting to get in even more trouble by arriving late.

“Will someone get me down from here!” Threepio screamed from where he was still attached to the roof of the air taxi.

After getting him off the roof, the family of five all got on the Jade Saber as Mara piloted them back toward the Solo residence.

“I still won,” Jaina muttered lowly to Harry. Harry's vehement denials were last thing heard before the ramp closed.

\----------xxxxxxxx---------

**Solo residence, Coruscant**

All four adults were glaring at the four children in front of them. Well, Luke and Leia were glaring. Han and Mara were trying, and failing, to hide their amusement and pride.

“Well, do you four have anything to say about yourselves?” Leia asked in a stern tone.

The children looked at each other before Jaina looked up and said, “I won.”

“Yes! Pay up Mara,” Han exclaimed, sticking out his hand to receive the 500 credits they had wagered on the outcome, which Mara gave him begrudgingly.

“Han!” Leia exclaimed disbelievingly. Luke's frown switched to a smile for split-second before forcing it back to a frown. However, Leia caught it and gave a sigh of resignation. “Am I the only one who believes what they did was wrong?” Leia exclaimed exasperatedly.

“No, sweetheart. We've just accepted it as inevitable after seven years,” explained Han in amusement before wincing when his wife smacked him in the shoulder.

Leia just glared at her husband despite it being true. Despite Leia's best efforts, Harry and Jaina still found ways to race against each other. It would be worrying if it wasn't for humorous undertones and the strong bond between them. Indeed, sometimes Jaina and Harry seemed closer than even Jacen and Jaina. If they weren't so young the adults would suspect stronger feelings than just friendship.

“Well, despite the delay,” here Leia glared at her children, “Luke has something to tell you, Harry.”

Luke smiled at his adopted son. Despite Luke's attempt at being impartial, he had to admit that he had been looking forward to this since Harry first joined the family. Over the years, Harry had proven himself a prodigy when it came to Force sensing. His senses had foiled many a kidnapping and assassination attempt on the children. Luke's blood still boiled when he remembered the first assassination attempt directed at Harry himself. Needless to say, bounty hunters around the galaxy (well, the smart ones) decided that the pay either had to be in the seven digit area or they wouldn't take it. Once Mara entered the picture even Boba Fett decided that there were greener pastures. He doubted he'd live long enough to enjoy the money even if he was successful.

“I've come to announce that it's time for you to officially start your Jedi training,” said Luke patiently.

Harry's eyes widened and the Solos looked at him in envy. “Y-You mean... going to the Academy to train with you and Mom and everyone else?”

“Well, your cousins will be going next year since I haven't start the Young Jedi Academy part of the Academy and she wants all three of them to go at once and eleven is too young for Anakin to go.” At that, Anakin opened his mouth to complain only to fall silent at the look on his mother's face. “But you're thirteen now and old enough. Don't worry, your cousins will be joining you soon enough.”

Harry had a wide grin on his face and despite their grumbling at the injustice of one year difference, the Solo children were happy for him. Over the years, they had practiced with their abilities and even had miniature contests between them. Jacen was the unofficial animal magnet, Jaina was a wiz with mechanics and machines (even better than Harry much to his chagrin) while Harry was the best sensor. Harry's Force senses have the potential to be equal to Mara's whose senses were better than even Luke's. 

Anakin was a prodigy in almost all areas and promised to have as much potential as his namesake. He often stated that using the Force was “like breathing to him.” Harry internally frowned at his thought processes. Anakin treats the Force too much like one would treat a hydrospanner. He hoped he would grow out of that.

“Usually,” Luke started after Harry calmed down. “I would wait till you're all older but I doubt you would want to wait a year before joining the Academy, am I right?” Luke had a wry grin on his face that grew with Harry's denials. While he could tell Harry would miss the Solo children and vice versa, they were kind enough and friendly enough to want Harry to do well. No doubt they were envious but it would pass and they would miss him most of all.

“Well then, if you want to be a Jedi Master you better pack first,” Han stated with a grin. The grin widened when Harry ran out of the room to pack, with the other children hot on his heels.

“They grow so fast,” Leia stated in a longing tone. “Seems only yesterday the four of them were trying to take apart the Falcon or steal it for a joyride.”

“Um, honey,” Han stated in a joking tone, “that was yesterday.”

The adults dissolved into laughter.

Back upstairs, the twins watched in amusement as Harry ran around his room looking for anything he might want to take with him. Eventually, they stopped laughing and started to help him get packed, much to his gratitude.

As Jaina was helping Harry decided what datapads to take and which to leave behind, she turned to Harry with a strange look on her eye. “You know, I'm happy for you but I'll really miss you this year. It just won't be the same without you here.”

Harry looked up at Jaina and blinked in confusion before a smile crossed his face. “I'll miss you too, Jay-jay. But it'll only be a year and then you'll be at the Academy with me. I'll be able to tell you all the secret place and the best training for everything so think of me as a sort of advance scout.”

Jaina giggled at his words before drawing Harry into a tight hug. “Don't forget about me, okay Harry?”

Harry felt butterflies in his stomach at the feel of Jaina pressed against him and smiled softly. “I can never forget about you, Jay-jay. Never.”

\----------xxxxxxxxx-----------

**One hour later**

“You all set?” Han asked Harry who was standing in front of him with his bag all set to go.

“Yep, I'm ready Uncle Han,” assured Harry with a smile. “Me and the twins checked like ten times already.”

Everyone chuckled before Jaina spoke in surprise. “Wait, you should go say goodbye to Zekk,” Jaina exclaimed. “He'll need to know you'll be gone for the Academy now.”

Everyone missed the slight scowl that was on Harry's face at the mention of the street-wise youth. The reason was two-fold: one, he managed to make Harry look like an idiot at their first meeting and two, ever since they had met him Jaina had been smitten with the boy. Harry tried to understand the complex emotions passing through him but couldn't so he forcefully suppressed them. A Jedi controlled his emotions anyway so he would control his.

“No time, kiddo,” Han responded sadly, “plus he could be anywhere. He doesn't exactly stay in one place. You could just tell him yourself once you see him.”

Han didn't really like the kid. Mostly it was because he didn't like any boy who his daughter liked. He lived happily oblivious to the tension in Harry shoulders as well as the slight scowl whenever Zekk was mentioned. As far as he was concerned, Jaina could date only after he was six feet under.

“Oh, ok,” Jaina said with a shrug. She turned to Harry with an impish smile. “I guess that'll make Zekk the King of the Undercity now, eh Harry?”

Jaina sad tone when she thought of Harry leaving instantly melted any ire Harry had at Zekk. Despite everything, he wanted Jaina happy (she sounded like a kicked puppy when she was sad) and so decided to be nicer to Zekk. He forcibly tried not to think of Jaina and Zekk alone now that he was leaving. It would only make him angry in the long run.

“I'll miss you guys,” said Harry sincerely. “Don;t get into too much trouble without me and I'll see you in a year.”

“Count on it,” said Jacen with a smile.

\--------xxxxxxxxx---------

**Jedi Praxeum, Yavin 4**

“And here's the Academy and your new home until you graduate or become a Knight,” said Mara grandiosely, gesturing at the Academy. “Feel free to explore and make some friends. The opening ceremony is in two hours. Here's your room on the map.”

Harry smiled at his mom. “Thanks, Mom. I'm gonna go get settled in. I'll see you later.”

As Mara left, Harry studied the Academy and his new home with awed eyes.

The topmost level (or the 3rd floor)was basically a big chamber where they would do the most training called the Grand Audience Chamber. It was originally used as a ceremonial hall by the Alliance garrison but was now used by the Jedi Academy as a teaching space. The level below it (or the 2nd floor) was converted entirely to rooms for the Jedi Masters and their students; with extra space used for storage. On the level below (the 1st floor), the central chamber was called the Strategy Center or War Room, with the surrounding rooms on this level used as meeting-rooms, communications and computing bays, kitchens and dining halls. As he entered the War Room, he heard that there was a basement level where the hangar was located where some Jedi apprentices could keep their ships or even work on modified ones to keep their mechanical skills sharp.

Harry salivated at the idea of A-wings and X-wings being available for his “genius” tinkering. Luke, who was passing by, noticed this and made a mental note to place a guard around the hangar. The last thing they needed was late-night explosions coming from the hangar. 'Kyle would probably mistake it for an attack,' he thought with a wry grin as he walked toward the Grand Audience Chamber where the speech would be given.

After shaking himself from his daydreams of modified A-wings and other ships and decided to go to his assigned room and unpack first. Then he'd try and get to know anyone else his own age near his room before finally asking around about the hangar and modifying his own ship. Only after would he ask about Jedi training.

Hey, he had his priorities.

Thankfully, his room wasn't hard to find and he quickly entered and started to unpack. The room wasn't that big, having just a bed, a desk with a computer to contact his family and a fresher through a door to bathe. Harry quickly unpacked and put his stuff where it would fit before putting his bag under the bed.

After he finished unpacking, he decided to be friendly and get to know the people in his corridor. He would be living close to them for a couple of years so it would be best to know his fellow apprentices. Approaching the door next to his first, he knocked only to get no answer. He guessed it was currently unoccupied and shrugged before knocking on the door in front of that one. 

After a moment, the door opened revealing a Human girl with brown hair and dark eyes. She was wearing a slightly dirty yellow dress that went down to mid thigh and had a pair of long black pantyhose that he imagined was to preserve her modesty when the dress was kicked up. She was fairly pretty with deep dark eyes set in a pretty face and long legs that were emphasized by her pantyhose.

The girl looked fairly nervous but controlled herself quickly enough. “Hello, can I help you?”

Harry smiled in a friendly fashion in greeting. “Hello, my name is Harry Potter. I'm staying in the room over there and I wanted to get to know my fellow padawans. I hope we can get to know each other and become friends.”

The girl eyed him for a moment before a small smile crossed her face. “I'm Klin-Fa Gi, it's nice to meet you. You just arrived?”

Harry smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I just got here. How about you? You been here long?”

“Only a day,” said Klin-Fa with a shake of her head. “Just long enough to get settled in and meet a few people.”

“Cool,” said Harry simply. “Want to come with me and get to know our fellow corridor roommates?”

Klin-Fa shrugged. “Sure. But the room in front and the one next to it belong to the two I met yesterday, Bey Gandar and Yabeley. They're currently out doing something or other so I'll have to introduce you later.”

“So that's why no one answered when I knocked,” said Harry in realization. “Well, how about the room in front of mine and the one on its other side?”

Klin-Fa looked thoughtful for a moment. “I think someone arrived an hour ago to those rooms but I'm not sure. Let's go check.”

Harry nodded his agreement and the two starting to slowly walk over to the room in front of his own.   
As they walked toward the room, Harry found out that Klin-Fa was thirteen like him and was born and raised on Bonadan and was glad to escape that planet. Harry could understand that given all he'd heard of the planet. Strangely, she didn't mention her parents at all but got the feeling it was for similar reasons that he didn't mention his blood relatives and so kept quiet. 

Harry told her about himself and she showed some surprise when he said he was Luke's adopted son but simply shrugged it off soon after. Harry was glad for it since he didn't want her to form any preconceived notions of him due to who he was related to. They eventually stopped talking when they reached the room and Harry took the initiative and knocked, Klin-Fa slightly behind him. After a few seconds, the door was opened and Harry had to keep his jaw from dropping at the sight before him.

A beautiful Rutian Twi'lek girl around his age with azure blue skin and green eyes opened the door. She was dressed provocatively as was the norm for her species with a tight long-sleeved black leather jacket opened at the top, showing off her cleavage, and matching black pants. She looked to be his age at most yet was obviously more.. developed than other girls of similar age. To finish the look was the normal Twi'lek headdress in a pure white color, contrasting with her blue skin. Once he got back from ogling her, he blushed when he realized she was looking him up and down much like he had been with approval in her eye.

“Can I help you?” she asked in a seductive purr, not seeming to notice Klin-Fa standing next to him.

“H-Hi,” squeaked out Harry, causing the girl to giggle. Blushing, Harry cleared his throat and tried again. “Hi, I'm Harry Potter and I'm staying in that room across from you. I was just-”

“Trying to get me into bed with you,” interrupted the girl in a teasing tone. “My, my. How forward of you Mr. Potter but I don't go to home base on the first meeting. I'm not that easy.”

Harry blushed deeply at her insinuation and quickly denied it. Beside him, Klin-Fa rolled her eyes at his actions before stepping forward, making the Twi'lek girl realize she was there for the first time.

“Hello, I'm Klin-Fa Gi and I'm in the room next to yours. We just came by to get to know our fellow apprentices.”

The Twi'lek girl seemed to study Klin-Fa slightly before relaxing and smiling in a friendly fashion. “It's nice to meet you then. My name is Alema Rar. I just got here when Master Daeshara'cor dropped me and my sister off. She decided we needed some interaction with other Jedi and so dropped us off here. She's still our Master and we'll go on missions but we'll be based here now.”

Harry blinked in surprise at her words. “You already have a Master? That's awesome. I just got here and while I've had some training here and there I never had any formal training till now.”

Klin-Fa also seemed impressed but focused on another thing she said. “Sister?”

Alema nodded with a smile. “Twin sister actually. She's in the room next to me if you want me to introduce you two.”

The two nodded and Alema wrapped her around one of Harry's before leading them toward her sister's room. Harry blushed at the feel of Alema against him but managed to control it this time before he made a fool of himself.

The group of three eventually reached Alema's sister's room and this time Alema knocked. “Hey Numa! I've got some friends I want you to meet!”

It was silent for a second before the door was answered by a beautiful Rutian twi'lek girl that was an exact double of the one on Harry's arm. Slike her sister, she had azure blue skin and green eyes a shade lighter than his own. Like her sister, she was dressed provocatively though still managing to look combat ready. She had a strange tube top like shirt that bared her cleavage with strings crossing over said cleavage. The shirt was also attached to a pair of white long sleeves that were tucked into a pair of long black combat gloves. She was also wearing a long skirt that reached up to her knee and long black combat boots that reached up to a little below her knee. To top it off she had the normal Twi'lek headdress in a pure white color like her sister.

Harry couldn't but think that no man could resist both girls coming on to him at once and prayed to never have to test his own ability too because he doubted he would pass.

“You know, sister,” started the attractive Twi'lek in a droll tone. “You didn't have to yell. Just knocking would have done the trick.”

“But it wouldn't have been as much fun,” said Alema impishly, which got a smile from her sister. “Numa, these two are our new corridor roommates, Harry Potter and Klin-Fa Gi. They just came and introduced themselves so I thought they should meet you too.”

Numa smiled in a friendly fashion to Klin-Fa before turning to Harry. Harry smiled happily at her and therefore missed the slight darkening of her cheeks and the knowing look Alema sent her sister.

“So is that everyone in our corridor then?” asked Harry curiously.

Klin-Fa nodded. “For now, I guess. New apprentices are scarce right now but Master Skywalker told us about opening a Junior Jedi Academy next year so there would be a lot more recruits then. For now, it's just us five and whatever apprentices of other Masters pass by. Since the other two idiots in this corridor aren't here yet they must be either exploring or bugging the Masters for practice lightsabers. Wanna find them and meet them?”

Harry shrugged at that. “Sure.” He turned to the Twi'lek twins with an inviting look on his face. “I'm gonna go meet Klin-Fa's friends. Wanna come with?”

The twins exchanged look similar to the way Harry had seen the Solo twins communicate and seemed to reach an agreement. “Sure, but after the opening ceremony we have a few spare training lightsabers if you want to spar. We can teach you a few things if you want.”

Harry smiled widely at that. “It'd be my pleasure to be taught by two such beauties.” As they tittered slightly at his grandiose gesture, Harry turned to Klin-Fa. “Well, lead the way then.”

Klin-Fa nodded and started walking with Harry beside her talking about what they knew about the Force and the twins bringing up the rear.

As Harry and Klin-Fa discussed lightsaber techniques, Alema and Numa were having their own conversation in the back.

“Isn't he cute, Numa?” asked Alema teasingly. “Kind, handsome and strong from the looks of him. Not to mention how cute his rear end looks.”

“Alema!” whispered Numa in embarrassment. “We just got here! Can you NOT encourage people's beliefs that all Twi'leks are easy whores?”

Alema rolled her eyes at her twin's prudishness. “I'm not going to fall into bed with him right away! I'm just mentioning that he's good boyfriend material and I'm thinking of marking my territory now for later when we're older and I know him better. If he turns out to be genuine then I might make him my boyfriend in a year or two. Master Daeshara'cor always said it was better to groom them young before they get bad habits or someone else snatches them up.”

“Alema!” whispered Numa while blushing in embarrassment and mortification. “She was talking about household pets!”

“What's a boyfriend/mate if not a pet you keep for life,” joked Alema. Seeing her sister glare at her, she huffed. “You're no fun, Numa. But don't worry, I'm not going to throw myself at him or anything.”

“Thank you,” said Numa in relief.

“I will flirt with him though,” continued Alema with a grin, causing Numa to groan. “And I'm totally going to ogle that cute butt of his at every opportunity.”

Numa couldn't help but peek at said rear end and blushed slightly. Alema caught her blushing and the reason and her smile widened. 

“Very cute butt, right?” teased Alema, causing her sister's blush to darken. “Maybe if I do make him my boyfriend, I'll share him with you. After all, we share everything, right?”

Numa could only close her eyes in mortification as her sister laughed. “You're incorrigible, Alema.”

“Oh, be happy, Numa!” declared Alema happily. “We're among fellow Jedi for the first time! We should have some fun and be happy, shouldn't we? Make some friends, break some hearts, maybe find love? At least this isn't like the Old Order that prohibited everything. At least now we're allowed to fall in love.”

Numa had to agree with her sister. While not as... liberal as her sister, she did want to fall in love someday. And as much as she tried to deny it, she had much the same thoughts about the cute Potter boy that she did and the idea of sharing him with Alema wasn't unappealing.

But that was later. For now, she planned on training and becoming a strong Jedi like their Master. And with more friends and Masters available, they could advance faster. 

There was also the fact that the Potter boy radiated the Force almost equal to some Masters. He was strong, no doubt, and her sister knew this. Probably part of the reason she was attracted to him. The fact he was nice and friendly meant he won't be stingy or demand 'rewards' for teaching them something so that was a good thing.

Maybe this friendship thing would work out for the best.

“Such a cute butt,” muttered Alema in a teasing tone.

“Alema!” whispered Numa in exasperation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And there's chapter 2!
> 
> For those who read the original version, you can start to see some major changes. For one, I left the Solos in Coruscant. This was to give Harry some independence from them for a while and to better explain why he became a Knight before them. Longer time training and everything.
> 
> Second was leaving out the usual Young Jedi cast for next year when the twins arrived. It was to give Harry his own group of friends outside of Jaina and Jacen's though he'll still be friends with them too. Everyone mentioned actually exists in that timeline so I didn't invent any OCs. It was just difficult as hell to find these characters. Seriously, there has to be a better way to find Jedi who were in a certain generation.
> 
> The biggest change though was switching Astraal for the Rar twins. This was done deliberately because the twins serve my purposes better than Astraal. Sorry, for all the Astraal fans but Alema and Numa will be taking her place as Harry's main squeezes. What happened to Alema and Numa in canon will actually help me plan for their future. They might not end up like canon (Numa dying and Alema turning insane) but I haven't decided yet. I'm leaning toward a variation of what actually happened but not strictly the same. I obviously upped their ages to match Harry's but that was the only change I made.
> 
> Mostly all the scenes of Astraal will be replaced with either Alema or Numa and it actually fits better and I have a better explanation for why they broke up. Anyway, keep reading before passing judgement.
> 
> Anyway, Read and Review!


	3. Training and the Force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter 3**

**A few minutes after the last chapter**

Harry and his new friends were gathered with all the other students in the Grand Audience Chamber. They had failed to find Klin-Fa's friends before it was time for the opening ceremony so had just given up and gone to the Chamber to meet them there. Along the way, the four had gotten to know each other better and become fast friends. Harry had quickly learned that Alema's flirtatious demeanor was normal for her and that her sister, Numa, was the only who could control her outside of their Jedi Master. 

Contrary to being repulsed by Alema's actions, he found himself intrigued by her confidence in her own looks. He admitted to himself that it was an attractive trait and separated her with most girls their age.

There were quite a few students but only two grabbed his attention. The two were standing together not far from them. One looked like an average Human male with brown hair and brown eyes and no spectacular features about him. He was already wearing the normal youngling robes they were all commissioned and was toying with the hem slightly. He had a smile on his face and was looking around eagerly, excited to be there.

The one with him was also a Human male but had red hair and emerald eyes, similar to Harry's own but slightly different. He too was wearing the youngling robes but unlike his friend, he was outwardly calm although he was also looking around as if searching for something. Harry could sense that he was excited even if he didn't outwardly show it.

Suddenly, the brown-haired boy caught sight of their group and pulled on his friend's shirt, drawing his attention to them. They talked between themselves for a moment before making their way over to their group.

The two boys stepped up to them and smiled at Klin-Fa. “Hey, Klin,” said the brown-haired boy happily. He looked at the rest of them with curious eyes. “Who are these? Friends of yours?”

“Yes and you would know them if you two hadn't gone exploring all day,” admonished Klin-Fa, causing the two boys to look slightly sheepish. Sighing, Klin-Fa introduced them. “These are Harry Potter, Alema Rar and her sister Numa Rar. Guys, the brown-haired one is Yabeley while the red-head is Bey Gandan.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Harry in a friendly tone.

“You too,” said Yabeley happily. His friend just nodded in their direction before starting to talk to Klin-Fa. Yabeley looked around before his eyes fell on Alema and Numa, or more specifically, on their visible cleavage. A small blush told them all they needed to know about his thoughts.

Narrowing their eyes at the boy, the girls exchanged glances and nodded before stepping on either side of Harry and wrapping an arm around one of his. Yabeley seemed to blush darker at the sight before turning around and walking toward where Klin-Fa and Bey were talking.

The Twi'leks eyed him go before Numa turned to Harry with an apologetic look. “Sorry, but I guess we'll be using you as a sort of shield against some of these boys. I guess becoming Jedi doesn't stop them from being hormonal boys after all.”

Harry just shrugged. “It's no problem. I don't mind. I'd rather you use me as a shield than something happen because these boys got too forward. What are friends for?”

On Harry's other side, Alema pressed herself further against him. “Keep talking like that, Potter, and I really will fall for you.”

Harry blushed at her words and was about to answer when a familiar and welcome feeling alerted him to his father's arrival. Right on time, Harry saw Da- Master Skywalker enter the chamber with the other Masters, sending Harry a quick smile before walking to the front to address the group which Harry noticed only consisted of five more outside of his immediate group.

The relationship between Harry and Luke was very complex. Luke initially tried to be distant from Harry, knowing he would someday train Harry and wishing to be impartial. Harry was hurt by this and initially thought he had done something wrong and so tried to gain his affection the only way he knew how: hard work to the point of exhaustion. He would clean both the Solos and Luke's apartment wherever they were staying and would drop anything to clean up if he heard Luke was coming to visit. It eventually came to a head about two months after Harry started living with the Solos.

\---------xxxxxxxxx-----------

**Flashback (two months after Hethrir incident)**

Harry was currently playing “Jedi Knights” with Jaina and Anakin. They were jumping up and down the room and pretending to be swinging lightsabers at each other. Harry and Jaina were on opposite sides (like always) with Anakin helping whoever was supposed to be losing at that time. Jacen was currently “dead” and like a good corpse was laying silently on the floor. Harry was currently trying to “avenge” his death at the hands of the “evil” Darth Jay-Jay. 

“I will avenge my fallen friend!” Harry exclaimed, trying to keep in his laughter.

“I shall stop your evil ways, Sith scum!” Jaina exclaimed.

Of course, to each side, the other was the “evil Sith”. Mostly because none of them could agree as to who would play the Sith so they simply decided that to each other, the other side would be Sith.

Anakin was being more of a cheerleader than a help at this point. He was tired from all the jumping around. After all, they had been playing for about two hours and he was only four.

“Well, well, well, who's winning so far?” asked an amused voice from the doorway.

There stood Luke in his normal Jedi robes smiling at the sight before him. Jaina was still in her pajamas despite it being around noon while Harry was only wearing his pajama bottoms. Anakin was rolling on the floor in laughter due to “Darth Ewok's” (Harry) latest strike on Jaina that just so happened to hit her on her bottom. It would look like an accident if it wasn't for the amused light in Harry's eye as well as the smile that threatened to break his face.

Harry looked toward Luke with a smile before he saw the state of the room. In the course of their “epic battle”, they had broken a holo-image of the family on the dresser, thrown clothes all over the place; in order to distract the “evil Sith”; and had basically made a mess of everything. 

Harry paled drastically and started picking up everything while muttering apologies at Luke for the state of the room. He got so frantic he almost had tears in his eyes. The other children just looked on confused.

Luke, however, looked stricken. He knew Harry had had a bad childhood. After all, Jaina had told them what Harry had originally said about the reason for him being captured was. But this really drove the point home. It was obvious he thought he would be punished for making a mess and not picking up the room for Luke's arrival. Luke had noticed that everything looked extra clean whenever he visited lately but simply passed it off as one of Threepio's newest habits. However, he now realized it must have been Harry trying to keep Luke happy so he wouldn't be cast off like before. 

Meanwhile, Harry was almost crying as he tried to pick up everything quickly. He hoped Luke wouldn't send him off because he thought he was lazy. His uncle always called Harry a lazy good-for-nothing and Harry couldn't bear it if Luke thought the same thing. 

Luke walked slowly toward Harry and placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry looked up at Luke with tears in his eyes. Luke felt terrible. He has taken the boy in but with all his responsibilities he barely had time to get to know him. What Jedi master ignores a child who he knew had abandonment issues, he scolded himself.

“It's okay Harry, I don't mind the mess,” he told him quietly while taking the mess of clothes he had in his hands from him. Harry just gave him a confused look.

“Anakin, Jacen, Jaina. Can you go to the living room a second? I need to talk to Harry for a minute,” he asked the children gently. The children until then had been confused up about what was happening. Why was Harry crying because of a mess? They always made messes and Mom and Dad never made a big deal about it. Well, only if they broke something important. Then Leia would sit them down and tell them not to do it again (which they obeyed for about an hour).

They nodded at their uncle and left toward the living room still confused about what was happening. After making sure they really had gone (sometimes they were too curious for their own good) he looked toward Harry. 

Harry had drawn into himself as if expecting a blow. This more than anything nearly reduced Luke to tears. What kind of childhood did he have to have this kind of ingrained response?

Luke gently placed a hand on Harry's head and ignored Harry's flinch. “Harry,” Luke stared gently, “why were you crying?”

Harry stayed silent for minute before the words started tumbling forth like a broken dam. “I just didn't want you to think I was a lazy good-for-nothing and get rid of me like my uncle. I promise it won't happen again. I'll clean up the whole house and cook the meals and everything just don't get rid of me, please!” said Harry tearfully. By the end, he had almost broken down into sobs.

Luke's heart clenched at the speech. Despite all his supposed wisdom, Luke didn't know how to handle the situation. He had had a normal childhood and despite disagreements with his uncle they had loved each other. However, Harry needed him and he would be damned if he failed him.

“Harry, I promise you I will never throw you away,” Luke said kneeling front of him, “You can make all the messes in the world and I will never abandon you, I swear.”

Luke had said this with such conviction that Harry was at a loss for words. Never? Even if he broke his favorite dish or something? The concept of being more precious than any other possession was lost on Harry. No one had ever said anything similar to him about him. He was always told by his uncle that he was lower than the dirt on his shoes. A freak that was only allowed to live due to his unending generosity. 

Harry immediately broke into sobs and hugged Luke tightly. It was the first time someone had actually said Harry was worth something. Though the Solos had been kind to him, they had never said anything similar to him out loud. Though their actions said it, Harry was too young to understand it without being told. For all his experiences had caused him to mature faster than normal in some areas, he was still a six-year-old boy who never knew any form of love.

Luke hugged Harry back tightly and silently swore that he would help heal Harry's wounds.

**Flashback end**

\----------xxxxxxxxxx-----------

Since then, Harry had looked up to Luke as a father figure and even tried to imitate him in everything. He was completely loyal and nothing could make him angry faster than someone insulting Luke in front of him. Luke had been the first adult to verbally accept him as precious with Jaina being the first person period. Due to that, both of them would forever be precious to him and he would suffer no one to cause either pain.

It seemed that Luke had come to give the newcomers a welcoming speech and was smiling kindly down at the group before him.

“Welcome new padawans, to the Jedi Praxeum,” said Luke. He looked at each padawan in turn and his smile grew a bit when he looked at Harry and his group. Unnoticed to all, Bey noticed this and frowned slightly.

“During the time you spend here I hope you grow to be great Jedi but more importantly that you grow to be great people,” said Luke. “As you grow as a Jedi I hope you all grow as a person and learn to accept and even embrace the Force as much a part of you as any of your limbs.”

The speech went on to talk about the responsibilities of the Jedi as well as what they'd learn here. After the speech was, he explained the schedule. Everyone would awaken at 8am where they proceed to eat breakfast. From 9am to 12pm, they would have lectures on the nature of the Force from either Luke, any available Master at the time, or even from one of the holocrons they had available. At 12pm it was time for lunch. At 1pm they would either have lightsaber training, physical training or training into using their Force abilities in various ways depending on the available Master as well the day.

After he answered any questions on the schedule, he told them that as it was the first day they had it free and encouraged them to mingle amongst themselves. Once Luke left, Harry turned to his new friends and they started to talk about what tomorrow would bring when they interrupted by a blond-haired boy about a year younger than them whose name they didn't know.

“So, you must be the hanger-on that Master Skywalker took pity on,” the boy said spitefully while looking at Harry. He looked him and his group up and down and said, “You don't look like much, I'm much stronger in the Force than any of you.”

The group bristled at the insult of their potential as well the way he greeted them. “Perhaps you should do see what we can do before you pass judgment on us,” said Klin-Fa firmly.

“Yea, you only just met us,” said Alema angrily, “I bet you don't even know how to wield your lightsaber correctly. What's your name anyway?”

The boy looked her and her sister up and down and smiled in a way he probably thought was charming before saying, “My name is Raynar Thul, beautifuls. If you two wanted to get to know me better, all you had to do was ask.”

Alema leaned away from the boy with a look of disgust on her face. “I wouldn't touch you if we needed to repopulate the galaxy!,” she exclaimed. Besides her, Numa nodded in agreement with her sister.

The group fell into laughter at her declaration while the boy's face turned an angry red, whether due to anger or embarrassment Harry didn't know. Raynar turned away from the group and started to walk away before turning back toward them.

“Like I would want a Twi'lek whore anyway,” he stated angrily. He looked her up and down before sneering and saying, “You two are probably used goods anyway.”

Harry instantly got angry and therefore missed the flinch Alema gave as well as the rare furious look on Numa's when he called them “used goods”.

“Why don't you go back to your mother since it's obvious she never taught you any manners,” said Harry angrily. Seriously, what was wrong with this kid? Was he that stuck up?

Raynar just sneered at him and walked away. Harry turned back to the Rar twins and gave them a comforting squeeze of the shoulder each. “Don't listen to him,” said Harry firmly. “He's just jealous that he can't be with a girl as beautiful as you two.”

Numa blushed at Harry's comment while Alema smile coyly up at him. “Oh, so you think we're beautiful? Well, I think you're pretty cute yourself.” Seeing Harry blush, Alema giggle. “Oh, I'm gonna love breaking you out of that shyness. But you're right,” Alema glared in Raynar's direction. “He isn't worth listening to.”

“That's right, don't listen to him. I'm sure you'll be a much better Jedi than him,” said Klin-Fa with certainty. Klin-Fa was laying a hand on Alema's shoulder in support. “Racism isn't rare, unfortunately. I sometimes get flack for being from Bonadan sometimes so I know how it feels.”

Nodding gratefully, Alema turned to the group with a smile. “So how about we go explore this place before classes start tomorrow? Don't want to get lost on our first day, right?” 

Harry and the others agreed to explore the Academy and surrounding jungle at the very least to know the best training grounds and set off. It only took them two hours to explore the entire Academy. They eventually reached the hangar and when they entered, it took every ounce of willpower in him to not steal a ship and declare it his for future tinkering. Surprising enough, Numa shared a small passion for mechanics as well and Harry and her talked for a while about ships and ion drives before Alema dragged them off after the rest of the group which had moved on.

Despite this, Harry's favorite place by far was the training grounds surrounding the Academy. Harry already had plans to practice his abilities in the training grounds as well as his ability to see shatterpoints. Harry internally promised himself to expect nothing but perfection form himself in his training. He would train each ability till he mastered it before moving on to another.

In regards to his shatterpoint ability, Harry had learned to control his ability slightly as time passed. In the beginning, the ability happened randomly or in times of great stress. It used to take a lot of concentration to force it to happen. Now, however, it took considerably less concentration. Harry's goal was to be able to due it subconsciously and without much effort. To that end, he was scouting which training ground would be best.

It had to have plenty of structures and/or large rocks, a large open area, with a few trees in the perimeter..... there! He saw it from where they standing on the 2nd floor. It was barely visible from here which meant it had privacy but close enough that any of the master would be able to sense him if they needed to find him. It wasn't like he was keeping secrets, he just wanted to practice in private.

“What you looking for, Harry?” asked a voice purring by his ear. The sensation caused him to shiver slightly and he turned to see it was Alema looking at him curiously. He also noticed that her question had caught the attention of the others who had until then been talking amongst themselves.

“Oh, just picking a training ground where I can practice once we get started,” explained Harry simply. “I want to get a head start on that since it'll be important.”

Klin-Fa raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you so eager to get started?” she asked doubtfully. “We don't even know how to train by ourselves yet.”

Harry shrugged and said, “I've already had some light training before. I had to in order to control my ability.”

The others just looked confused before Alema spoke what they were all thinking. “What ability?”

Harry noticed everyone looking interested so decided there was no use in hiding it. “Well,” started Harry, “Luke said that what I see are called shatterpoints.” Everyone just looked confused. Obviously, this was the first time they'd heard of the ability. Not surprising since there was only one recorded user of it in Jedi history.

Numa asked the question that was on everyone's mind, “What are these shatterpoints?”

Harry took a deep breath and started to explain what Luke had explained to him before he started training with Mara. “Shatterpoints are several things. A shatterpoint in relation to an object is the weak point in the object that, if put under pressure with the Force can cause the object to shatter. For example, if I concentrate I can see the shatterpoint in Mandalorian iron and destroy it with just a tap on its shatterpoint with the Force,” he explained to the others.

They looked suitably impressed. After all, it was well known that Mandalorian iron was impervious to even a lightsaber. It can take a lightsaber at full swing and come out barely singed.

“Also,” continued Harry, “it can be used in relation to events. I can see when a moment in time can change the entire course of a battle or event completely. The only thing is that I don't know if it'll be for good or for ill. An example is that I can see that destroying a certain ship in the opposing side can change a complete defeat on our side into victory.”

The others looked even more impressed and a little envious. That sounded like an incredible ability and if trained, would make him a very dangerous lightsaber combatant. And if he managed to refine it further, he could be very dangerous in a starfighter as well.

“You are going to be a powerful Jedi Knight,” said Yabeley in an awed tone. “Seriously, I don't think there's any doubt of that with an ability like that in your arsenal.”

Harry smiled sheepishly and said, “My ability doesn't guarantee that Yabeeley though it does give me an edge. It isn't unbeatable either or I would be able to beat Jedi masters easily which is way out of my abilities right now.”

“Perhaps,” agreed Klin-Fa, “but your dedication to perfect it as well as your determination to start training as early as possible will.” She stated this as a foregone conclusion without a hint of doubt in her voice. That alone made Harry make his next statement.

“Do you guys want to train with me?” he asked. They looked confused at his question. “I mean, I'm going to do extra training beyond what they're going to give us here. You're all welcome to join me. Though I do warn you that I wake up really early to train.”

They looked intrigued at the idea and quickly agreed to it. A little extra training didn't hurt anyone. How bad could it be?

\------------xxxxxxxxxxx-----------

**Jedi Praxeum, the next day (5 am)**

Numa was currently snoring in complete bliss. She had one leg hanging off the bed while sheets were tangled all over her form. She was the picture of peaceful and blissful sleep.

Suddenly, a shadow creeped into her room. The shadow was followed by another, more familiar shadow and both shadows giggled at the sight before them. The two slowly approached before the shadow with a similar figure to Numa's approached her left ear.

“GOOD MORNING!!,” screamed Alema right into her sister's ear.

With a scream, Numa woke up and due to being entangled in her sheets promptly feel on her ass on the floor. She struggled with the sheets for a moment before Numa glared up at Alema who had fallen down laughing at her “cute” scream.

“What time is it?” she demanded. Looking at the holo-clock on her dresser, she gave Alema a horrified look. “What in Palpatine's saggy left nut are you doing waking me up at 5am?!” she exclaimed.

Numa turned to Harry for an answer only to find him staring at her with a heavy blush. Looking down to see what was the problem, Numa eeped when she realized she was naked. The nights at Yavin 4 where cool and she enjoyed the feeling so she slept naked.

Numa blushed and covered ehrself with her sheets. “Get out!”

Harry wasted no time in complying and ran out like the hounds of hell were after him. Once he was gone, Numa turned and glared to her laughing sister who was now laughing at her flashing Harry.

“Wow, sis,” said a still laughing Alema. “I never pegged you to be so bold. Weren't you the one that told me not to come on too strongly or he'd think I'm a slut? Naughty, naughty.”

Numa blushed and glared at her sister. “You did it on purpose. You know I sleep naked when it's cool at night.”

“Of course I do,” said Alema with a shrug and a smile. “So do I and I already gave Harry an accidental full frontal too so it's only fair you did too.”

Grumbling under her breath about evil twin sisters and telling herself murder was not the way of the Jedi, Numa sighed. “So what are you two doing waking me up at this Force-forsaken hour anyway?”

“Remember that we were going to go train with Harry today? Seeing Numa nod, Alema continued with a smile. “Well, it's now so get dressed cause we're moving out.”

At this statement, Numa was aghast. She may not be as lazy as Alema was but she liked her beauty sleep. But now she was telling her that she would have to wake up at 5am every day? On one hand, she wanted to keep up with Harry and not fall behind (not to mention learn how to use the Force) but on the other, the bed was calling for her. Numa internally cried, 'the things I do to be a Jedi Knight.'

Seeing her sister's acquiescence, Alema told her to get dressed and meet in front of Harry's room and promptly left to wake the others.

After several death threats from Yabele, cries of being a pervert from Klin-Fa and almost being dismembered by Bey; they had all gathered in front of Harry's room. Harry had a smile on his face while the other five potential Jedi were looking at him as if contemplating how to hide the body.

“Now that we're all wide awake and clear-eyed,” said Harry cheerfully, at this they glared harder and Yabele muttered something under his breath not fit for people below legal age, “the first thing we're going to do when we reach the training ground is a series of stretches. Believe me, you'll thank me for it afterwards.”

The group reluctantly followed Harry out of his room and down the corridor toward the main entrance. The Academy was mostly empty of anyone so they went on undeterred until the entrance where they were met there by Luke.

“May I ask what everyone is doing up so early?” asked Luke. He had an idea but wanted to confirm his thoughts.

“Just getting an early start Dad, I mean Master Skywalker,” said Harry sheepishly. “Mom gave me a series of exercises that she said are good for overall development and since the morning is spent in lectures I thought we can get extra early to get in a bit of physical practice.”

Luke smiled at his pseudo-son and couldn't help but feel a bit of pride at seeing how serious he was taking his Jedi training. Most students don't get the idea of extra training until they get a master. After all, every little bit helps.

“That's fine,” said Luke, “but next time tell me before leaving the Academy. After all, there isn't much but there IS still danger in the jungle around here.”

Harry nodded at his adopted father and walked out toward his chosen training ground. The others followed after him dragging their feet. They had hoped that Master Skywalker would make them go back to bed due to some obscure Jedi-ish reason, but that hope was now dashed.

When they reached the training ground, Harry led the group through a series of stretches designed to wake them up as well as keep them limber. He corrected them when they were in danger of causing themselves harm. There was a funny moment when Numa was trying to touch her toes and Harry came up behind her to correct her and accidentally touched her backside. After backpedaling from a red-faced Numa and swearing that wasn't his intention he decided that he would verbally correct them unless there was no other option. He studiously ignored Alem'as giggling in the background. 

After they were done (and ignoring Alema when she purposefully did a stretch wrong so Harry would have to physically correct her), they proceeded to the exercises.

The first exercise consisted of doing a circuit with obstacles and different terrain in place. The purpose of it wasn't time or speed but rather balance. They had to be able to keep their balance while switching terrains. Mara had made Harry do this as well. Though they had practiced with lightsabers in a clean open apartment, she had emphasized the fact that may not always be the case so he had to be able to keep his balance. After all, what use is being good with a lightsaber if you trip over a rock and impale yourself? The Force doesn't prevent you from being clumsy.

They ran the pre-prepared circuit (Harry had done it after they parted ways yesterday) for an hour. The group did well enough once they understood it was better to be slower and not fall than fall and be forced to start from the beginning.

The next exercise was basically practicing speed and endurance. They would run from one side of the training ground to the other until they were tired. The purpose was to improve stamina as well as improve their base running speed. This would make the speed they had when they used the Force that much faster. The first to stop was Yabeley after 10 minutes. It was obvious he didn't have much stamina and he looked disappointed in himself. Harry stopped momentarily to give him a comforting smile as well as tell him he'd improve in no time before returning to his own run. 

The next ones to stop were Bey and Klin-Fa. The two did well, lasting 20 minutes but eventually collapsed, not capable of lasting any further. A look between Bey and Yabeley told Harry that a rivalry was forming between them but he let it go. Rivalry, as long as it was friendly, could be good for them after all. The one between Jaina and himself was proof of that.

The next ones to stop was Numa at 20 minutes and Alema at 21 minutes. Their previous training, both as a Jedi and as a dancer, had given them stamina due to sometimes having to dance for hours on end. Alema lasted slightly longer due to her loving dancing more than her sister and therefore, practicing it more. However, not even that could prepare her for running constantly without tapping into the Force. 

Harry continued until one hour and a half had gone by before stopping. He took off his shirt due to the heat, unknowingly giving the girls a show. Klin-Fa and Numa looked at his well-formed upper body with a blush on their cheeks while Alema looked at him with a hint of lust in her eyes.

The final exercise of the day was pull-ups. This gave them upper body strength for strong blows and the like according to his mother and now that he was hitting puberty, he could do more than he was allowed before. The goal was 10 sets of 15 but Harry told them to stop if they couldn't go anymore cause he didn't want them to hurt themselves. In the end, only Harry could finish the sets and even then, only barely.

Looking toward the sun, Harry guessed they had half an hour before breakfast so he said they should go take showers and get into their robes. They all agreed and dragged themselves to the freshers.

\---------xxxxxxxxxx----------

**Same day- 8am**

The group met up again after bathing and changing into their padawan robes. Harry informed them he did that every morning and were welcome to join him. When they learned how to channel the Force from their teachers, he would include Force abilities taught in class into the practice. He also warned them that today had been the only one he would wake them up for so if they wanted to continue they'd have to set the holo-clocks. They all begrudgingly agreed.

After they reached the dining area and getting their breakfast, they fell onto the food like ravaging cannibals. Even the girls seemed to have forgotten their manners in their quest for sustenance. Only Harry ate in his normal way with a smile on his face. In the Master's table, the battlemaster Kyle Katarn looked at the scene in shock before Luke leaned over and explained it to him causing him to break into laughter.

After their second helping (third for Alema and Numa), it was time for class so they all walked toward the Grand Audience Chamber. Luke was waiting for them with a smile on his face. After he made sure everyone was present, he started the lecture.

“The first thing that we must explain is what the Force is,” he started. “The Force is an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us and binds the galaxy together. Those were the exact words my first master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, used to describe it. In my personal experience, the Force is exactly that and more. To this day it is still unknown if the Force is a thinking entity, an apathetic deity or simply an energy field.”

“So you don't know what the Force is exactly?” interrupted Raynar rudely.

Luke looked at him before responding, “No, Raynar. No Jedi or Sith has ever been able to adequately explain its exact nature. If it's just a fount of energy, how does it guide those sensitive to it? If it's a benevolent deity, why does it allow the Sith to exist and wield it's power? If it's malevolent, why does it guide Jedi to protect the innocent? These are just the some of the questions Force-sensitive have asked since the discovery of the Force, originally called the Way, and we are still no closer to an answer. Any questions?”

Klin-Fa raised her hand and Luke nodded to her. “If we don't know what it is, how can we adequately wield it?” asked Klin-Fa hesitantly. “Isn't it dangerous to wield something we don't have full understanding of?”

“Normally this is true,” said Luke acknowledging the point. “However, Jedi have wielded the Force for over 25,000 years if not longer. They have both come to the conclusion that it is better to learn to wield it responsibly than to ignore it. Powerful Force-sensitives usually don't have a choice in the matter. They are so strong in the Force that without adequate training the Force can control them.”

“What about the Sith?” asked Raynar in his pompous tone. “What do they believe about the Force?”

At this, Luke looked at Raynar with a deep penetrating gaze that made him squirm a bit before answering. “Sith believe the Force is a tool like any other to wield as they see fit,” responded Luke firmly. “They care nothing for how their actions affect others beyond if it benefits them. True Sith seek to control the world around them and constantly strive for more power without consequence. We Jedi fight them because they cause destruction, death and suffering to all those around them.”

This effectively shut Raynar up. While too young to remember, he must have heard stories of the atrocities committed by Emperor Palpatine. The most glaring was around them: the complete destruction of the Old Jedi Order.

Seeing that there were no more questions, Luke continued the lesson. Harry, however, was deep in thought.

What exactly differentiates a Jedi from a Sith? The powers they wield? Their motives? Or perhaps something deeper? Could it be a mix of the three or perhaps none of them? What exactly turns a Jedi into a Sith?

Harry had heard the story of Anakin Skywalker. He knew how good intentions can sometimes lead to tragedy and darkness. Yet Luke always said that when he died, he returned to being a Jedi. Could the difference lie in something deeper? Perhaps it had less to due with motives, actions or powers and more to do with the very nature of the Force. While Harry didn't doubt that there were some powers firmly Light or Dark, he wondered how they were differentiated. In the emotions needed to power them? In the results a power causes? Perhaps it was all of this and none. One thing was certain. Harry would spend his entire life trying to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And there's chapter 3!
> 
> As you can see, further changes from my first version. I did my best to show more interaction between Harry and his group to better explain the developing relationship between them. Alema is a flirt but she's not a whore. She's just used to attention due to her species and uses it to her advantage. Numa is more reserved but acts similar to her when necessary on a mission.
> 
> As always, Read and Review!


	4. A Jedi's Lightsaber

**Jedi Praxeum training grounds, early 22 ABY**

Harry was sitting cross-legged on the ground of what he now considered his personal training ground. He had entered a light meditation trance in order to concentrate on the task at hand.

It had been eight months since he had entered the Academy and he had progressed rapidly in almost all areas of training. Some Masters were even calling him a prodigy, something his mother smugly said was due to her genius training. Harry believed it was simply due to his dedication shown in his large amount of extra practice hours.

Currently, he was training his telekinesis and spatial awareness without using the Force which he considered critical in any situation. As he breathed out he stretched out his senses to the fullest. Most Jedi depended on the Force to warn them of danger in time to react. However, Harry wasn't most Jedi. Harry's favorite lightsaber form of Makashi was also called Way of the Ysalamiri. Ysalamir are furry lizard-like creatures from the planet Myrkr well-known for their ability to repel the Force. Grand Admiral Thrawn had used it to protect himself from Jedi force powers and even had his elite soldiers carry one in a tank they carried on their backs. This showed Harry that there were times when the Force would not work on an enemy so he trained his normal senses for that eventuality.

Harry had been training his senses since he learned of these limitations. While the chances of meeting someone who employed these methods were rare, as his mother always said, “One percent chance is still a chance.” 

Harry smiled to himself as he remembered his mother figure. She had been visiting the Praxeum much more often lately and Harry had a faint idea that it involved him. She always seemed to be watching when they were practicing and Harry could almost feel her pride when he completed a task quicker than most.

Harry banished the distracting thoughts and concentrated on the task at hand. He slowly started to hover a foot above the ground, a light sheen of sweat visible on his face. This was harder than it looked due to the fact that Harry was wearing weights. He had started to use them about 3 months before and had tried to convince the others to as well. After they tried to kill him for the suggestion he didn't bring it up again.

Harry opened himself more to the Force and allowed it to fill him with strength. Another point of the exercise was to see what was the limit on the amount of Force energy he could take into himself before it started to cause him damage. When he started to feel a slight burning in his center, he stopped himself. Now hovering two feet above the ground he started the second part of his training.

All around him were various gadgets, small engines and even a small swoopbike. Using the Force he made them all hover about a foot above the ground. Slowly and with great precision, he started taking them apart while still hovering above the ground. He didn't take them apart by ripping them into chunks or anything like that. He slowly undid the screws holding them together much like an engineer or a mechanic would. The purpose of the exercise was to control his power. If he started to lose control of one of the objects, he'd stop, put it down slowly and concentrate on the others. The idea was to find the limit to his concentration and expand it.

After about 40 minutes, Harry was surrounded by various parts that didn't even slightly resemble any of the objects they used to be. It looked more like a mechanic's supply closet than a field of what used to be various gadgets and engines.

Now came the hard part. Harry took a deep breath before slowly letting it out. The entire time Harry had continued to hover a foot above the ground. Harry opened himself to the Force at his limit and started the slow process of putting them all together again. While Harry knew how most of the objects worked, he had no idea how to properly construct them. He used the Force to guide him on which object belonged where.

After two and a half hours (considerably longer than it took to take them apart), he was once again surrounded by the same objects he had when he started. Now drenched in sweat and mentally tired, Harry picked up the holo-clock in front of him. Holding his breath, he turned it on and smiled brightly when it worked without a problem.

Giving a whoop of joy, Harry proceeded to return all the gadgets to their places in the Praxeum. By the time he was done the sun had set. They had had the day off due to the Masters being busy in other matters. They were left in the care of Master Katarn but he was recovering from his wounds from a mission so couldn't train them. Aunt Leia was resuming her tenure as Chief of State while Luke and Mara were enjoying their second honeymoon. When Harry asked why they were having a second one, Mara blushed and stammered for the first time he'd ever heard while Luke fell down laughing. He chalked it up to their minds going in their old age. Harry had spent the morning with his friends but excused himself to train after midday meal.

While he had trained himself rigorously, his training had a second objective. The masters had agreed that Harry was ready to attempt to make his lightsaber.  
   
Harry had spent much time thinking on what he wanted as well what crystals to use. Unlike the others, Harry was not content with the simple lightsaber hilts available. Since he learned the basics of Makashi, Harry has already had an idea on what lightsaber he wanted to build. He wanted a curved-hilt lightsaber. The curved hilt was perfect for dueling as well as gave the wielder better control of the blade. For someone like Harry who was all about precision and control of the battle, it was perfect. However, Harry wasn't going to build one lightsaber. He was going to build three.

Originally, he was only going to build a pair of curved-hilt lightsabers. This changed when he realized that there were no schematics on how to build curved-hilt lightsabers. While they were known to be used by Makashi specialists and that Count Dooku used one, the schematic to building one had been lost.

Due to this, Harry changed his plans from building a pair to building three. For now, he would build a regular lightsaber while he tinkered with training lightsabers, trying to recreate the curved-hilt lightsabers. 

However, a problem came from the fact that the only known curved-hilt lightsabers were Count Dooku's and Asajj Ventress's. The design on the lightsaber hilt was truly lost to the ages unless an example of one was found. Due to this, Harry would have to use a basic lightsaber hilt design and adapt it to a curve. Harry knew that a basic curved-hilt lightsaber had a slight angle from the handgrip up to the emitter. However, that's all Harry knew. He would have to create a whole new design from scratch.

Also, instead of building the standard lightsabers that all the other Jedi in the New Order had with only one crystal, Harry was going to build three lightsabers that each had three crystals each. It was Harry's way of honoring the old ways of the Old Order. While much more difficult, Harry didn't like taking shortcuts when it came to important things. He had been planning on building his lightsabers this way since Mara gave him a long lecture on lightsabers when they started training. He wasn't going to change his plans now.

Harry scowled to himself. He had found out that the New Order used to be in possession of the Tedryn Holocron but it was destroyed by the spirit of Exar Kun. All that knowledge lost! Who knew if it had knowledge on lightsaber forms as well as lightsaber designs. It would have helped immensely. The Old Order had at least 10 holocrons (if not more) in their possession before the Purge. Of those holocrons, only three had been found: the Tedryn holocron (now destroyed), Kaerobani's holocron (recovered by Mara herself) and Arca Jeth's (recovered by Jedi Master historian Tionne). Neither of the latter two had any knowledge on lightsabers designs. Harry promised to himself he would find the other holocrons so future apprentices wouldn't have his problem.

Another problem was getting more crystals for his lightsabers. Harry wished for natural crystals because he believed the trials he went through to get them as well as refining them and installing them would make for stronger connection between his lightsaber and him. After a month of planning (as well as consulting Kaerobani's holocron which had a list of good lightsaber crystals as well as their locations) he knew exactly what crystals he wanted. The problem being that they were six in all and in different parts of the galaxy.

Harry managed to guilt trip Mara two months ago(saying how she would leave him all alone to go on the honeymoon soon) into taking him to retrieve the crystals. Tough Mara might be, but one look into Harry's sad eyes and she was putty in his hands. 

After several close calls and much trading (he even had to trade some of his best self made engines) he managed to get several samples of all six of the crystals he desired: a couple of velmorite crystals, a pair of hurrikaine crystals, two sapith crystals, three eralam crystals, four dantooine crystals and a single opila crystal that he would refine into jenruax.

When they came back, Mara kept muttering about stupid children making her dig through worm poop (the sapith crystal required searching through the dropping if the nearly extinct Volice worm). When he mentioned that the trials were part of the initiation, Mara stated that being dragged across the galaxy was such a trial that the crystals might as well be hers. She laughed when Harry refused to leave Mara alone with his crystals after that comment.

Now he finally had everything ready to build his lightsaber.

In honor of his adoptive grandfather on Luke's side as well as his adoptive mother, Harry's main lightsaber was going to use a hurrikaine crystal and the refined jenruax crystal as well as the mandatory bifurcating cyclical-ignition pulse to make it waterproof. As for the hilt, it was going to be made exactly the same as Anakin Skywalker's (now Mara's) lightsaber. While the hilt was better used by users of the New Jedi Order's strong style and Harry was primarily a fast style user, Harry could adapt his fighting style to suit it. The lightsaber was made to honor his adoptive grandfather's memory anyway.

That was one thing that rankled him. The fall of the Old Jedi Order meant a loss of almost all knowledge of lightsaber forms. The New Order basically had to start from scratch. If Harry ever made a holocron, his would probably revolve around lightsaber forms and combat as well as the difference between light side and dark side. The latter had been something that had been on his mind ever since his first lesson in the Academy.

As a person who can see shatterpoints, Harry knew that one single moment can change things irrevocably. The problem was knowing whether changing it would be for good or for ill. Harry didn't want to change things for the worst due to a single decision so he always thought things over dozens of times before affecting a shatterpoint. He didn't do it always due to his normal reckless behavior but he was getting better.

As Harry walked into the Praxeum deep in thought, he saw Numa waiting for him. 

Numa and her twin sister, Alema, had grown very well in the past eight months. They had grown slightly taller, measuring 1.4 meters which was still dwarfed by Harry's own 1.6 meter height. Her sister and her had also grown even more attractive if it was possible, their already curvy bodies taking on a toned and Amazonian appearance thanks to all the extra exercise and training he put them through.

In terms of her Jedi abilities, Numa had definitely grown into her own since joining the Praxeum. While not as adept as Harry in pure Force power, she more than made up for it in her lightsaber skill and her creativity in battle. She was also the first to think of training their telekinesis by taking complicated things apart and then putting them back together again. Out of the two sisters, she was the more serious one and it showed in her being closer to Harry's own level of skill with a blade than her sister despite not being able to match his raw power.

While not at the level of Anakin, Harry was about equal with the Solo twins in terms of raw power. He just emphasized more on control of that power than they did. While this made him more adept at techniques that required precision, the twins could more easily use techniques that just required raw power. An example was that while Harry could control and levitate many medium-sized boulders simultaneously, Jaina could easily pick up a large boulder and throw it with raw power toward him easily. Harry could stop it but since he wasn't at adept at channeling that much power, he'd probably stop it closer to him than he felt comfortable with. That was another reason that Harry was so good at dodging.

Speaking of the Solos, the older two would be arriving in the Praxeum within the next few days. Luke had told him that it was time for their training to start and that they would be arriving within the week. It was another reason Harry wanted to finish his lightsaber soon. So he could give them a show on their first day.

When Harry reached Numa, he cocked an eyebrow at her questioningly. “May I help you, Lady Numa?” he asked in an amused tone.

Rolling her eyes at his tone, she asked, “Where did you go all afternoon? Training again?” She held a undertone of exasperated disbelief in her tone. It was understandable in a way. Ever since they'd arrived in the Praxeum, Harry always trained on his time off and never moved past a skill until he'd perfected the previous one. He was a perfectionist when it came to his training and he admitted that but he just thought it was part of his charm.

Harry nodded in confirmation of her query. “You know me, Numa. Plus, I need to be ready for when I build my lightsaber tomorrow.”

“And you haven't seen Astraal at all?” she asked with a hint of suspicion in her tone.

Harry blinked in surprise before shaking his head in the negative.“No. Wasn't she with you guys?”

“Yeah but she left soon after you did,” explained Numa calmly. She looked at him with a strange look in her eyes. “I'd thought she'd gone to join you in training but I guess not.”

'Ah,' thought Harry, 'that explains it.' Lately, Alema had been spending more and more time around him, either training with him or just hanging out. People were already thinking that they were an item due to how much time they spent together and even his mother questioned him about it. Numa had noticed as well but had reacted oddly, a mixture of happy yet disappointed for some reason.

Shaking his head in amusement, Harry said, “I haven't seen her all day plus I did invite you guys to come with me but you guys wanted to be lazy for the day. Those were actually your exact words if I recall.”

Grumbling under her breath she replied, “Yeah but I didn't think you'd be out till sunset. I, uh,” Numa blushed slightly in embarrassment, “I wanted to ask for your help in researching a lightsaber hilt for myself. I have no idea what the differences between them even is or how it'll affect my form. Since you know so much I thought you could help.”

Harry gave her a comforting smile to ease her embarrassment. “It's no problem. We can do it now if you like. How about we go to my room and discuss that now as well as lightsaber crystals?”

Numa brightened at that before a sly smile crossed her face. “Inviting me to your room? At night? My, my, Mr. Potter. How forward. What would my sister say?”

Harry had long gotten used to the twin Twi'leks teasing natures so he just smiled right back. “Well, she's welcome to join us if she wants. Plenty of... knowledge to go around.”

Numa's eyes glittered with a strange emotion. “Careful, Mr. Potter, we might take you up on that.” Blinking as she realized what she said, she blushed slightly and stammered. “I-I'm gonna go find Alema. She may not say it but she needed help in that too.”

“Then I'll wait for you in front of my room then?” asked Harry. Once he got a nod of confirmation, he headed toward his room to freshen up and change before meeting up with the twins.

Along the way, he bumped into Yabele who looked deep in thought. “Hey, Yabele. Something wrong? You look lost in thought..... is the galaxy ending?”

Yabele maturely stuck his tongue out at him, getting Harry to laugh before sighing. “It's nothing, Harry. I'm just wondering if I'll ever catch up to you and the twins. Me, Klin-Fa and Bey still haven't gotten permission to build our lightsabers yet while you three have despite the fact we all entered at around the same time.”

Harry sighed and gave him a rueful smile. “You shouldn't think that way, Yabele. You'll get your chance soon and it's only normal us three got permission first. We did have prior training, after all. It won't be long before you get permission too so don't worry.”

“Yeah, but that doesn't explain how ahead you are in other stuff,” complained Yabele in frustration. “I mean, you only take as long as we do in learning new Force skills because you're a perfectionist. In as much time as we take to learn to use the skill at all, you've done stuff with it I've only ever seen Knights or Masters do. You're so far ahead of us that it's not even funny!”

Harry could feel the frustration and envy radiated off his friend as well as a sense of worthlessness and frowned. “Yabale,” Harry's forceful tone got his attention. “Never look down on yourself. So what if it takes you longer to do stuff than me, that doesn't make me a better Jedi or person. In fact, out of the two I'd say you're the better Jedi.”

Yabele frowned at that. “What do you mean?”

Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Being a Jedi is about more than being the strongest or the best or whatever the hell they talk about. Being a Jedi is about following the will of the Force and doing what's right, even if it endangers you. I've seen you stop during practice many times to help someone else get back up again even if it ruins your own score. That says a lot about you as a person and frankly, I sometimes wish I'm as good a person as you.”

Yabele blushed at his words and shuffled in place slightly. “You're just saying that.”

“No, I'm not,” disagreed Harry. “Remember, it's not the size of his strength that measures a Jedi, but the strength of his heart and his convictions. You'll be a great Jedi someday Yabele and while it may take you a bit longer than others, that won't make any less of one.”

Yabele smiled at that and nodded. “You're right. Thanks. Well, I'm gonna go study then. I'll see you later,”

“See ya.” Harry watched his friend walk back to his room and waited until he was gone before speaking. “You know, spying on people is wrong, Alema.”

A pair of azure blue arms wrapped around his midsection from behind as two generous mounds pressed against his back, causing the fourteen year old to let out a slight shiver of desire at the feeling. Jedi in training he might be but he was also a healthy teenage boy and Alema and Numa had grown quite well in the past eight months as he'd already noticed with Numa.

“Ahhhh, but being sneaky is my specialty, remember?” complained Alema cheekily. “Plus, I need to practice. Once I'm able to sneak up on you then I can sneak up on anyone.”

Harry smiled at her words and turned around to look into her green eyes with his own emerald.

While Harry had gotten close to all his friends, he was closest to Alema. While others would have thought Alema was a slut with all her flirting and teasing, Harry was one of the few who saw it for what it was. A way to test the sincerity of the person.

The fact of the matter was that as a Twi'lek, Alema would always be seen as a sex object first and a woman second, never mind being seen as a Jedi. She had to work twice as hard to earn the same amount of respect as even other women. While Numa did this by being mostly serious and hard-working, Alema instead embraced it by acting the part of the slightly ditzy and seductive Twi'lek. The ones who couldn't see through it she dismissed while valuing the ones who did.

It was for this reason that Harry and Alema had grown as close as they did. Harry had seen through her act and befriended the smart, courageous girl underneath. The two could often be seen together either training or just hanging out, having fun.

“You know, your sister was looking for you,” said Harry in amusement. “She seemed to think you'd be with me for some reason. As if we're attached at the hip or something.”

Alema smirked at his words. “Well, it all depends on where we'll be joined.” She blatantly looked down at his crotch before smirking back up at him and winking. “I wouldn't mind.”

Harry just chuckled at her words. “Maybe another day. For now, your sister and I were going to discuss lightsaber hilts and the like for when we build our lightsabers. I need to go take a bath so why don't you get your sister and we'll get started on that?”

Alema shrugged but nodded. “Fine. See you in a few, handsome.”

Harry watched Alema walk away, being careful not to stray downward to her well-toned behind with difficulty, before walking into his room. Grabbing a change of clothes and a towel, Harry entered the fresher.

* * *

Harry got out of the fresher to find Alema and Numa already in his room. Alema was reading something in a datapad while Numa was looking around his desk which held his various lightsaber components and crystals.

“You know,” drawled Harry, surprising the pair. “It's polite to knock before entering someone's room. What if I had come out of the fresher naked?”

Numa blushed at the thought while Alema smirked. “All the more reason to have come in unannounced,” said Alema cheekily. “Plus, how many times have you dreamed of coming out of the fresher and finding a hot, sexy Twi'lek half-naked on your bed?”

Harry just rolled his eyes and tried to hide the fact that that particular fantasy had crossed his mind many a time in the past eight months. However, the fact that Alema's smile only grew wider didn't give him much hope of having succeeded.

“So what's your problem with your lightsaber?” asked Harry, blatantly changing the subject.

Numa noticed this but went along with it, not wanting to witness another of Harry and Alema's back and forth flirtings. “Everything.” Numa sighed as she sat on the desk chair. “I don't even know where to start. What lightsaber hilt would be best for me or does it even matter?”

“Of course it matters,” said Harry with a frown. He sat on the edge of his bed, absently pushing Alem'as legs aside and ignoring her squawk of indignation. “The hilt is a reflection of you, after all and just any lightsaber hilt won't work.”

“So what do you suggest?” asked a rarely serious Alema.

“Well, first we need to look at your styles,” started Harry absently. “Numa here is more of a fast-style user like me, though she uses more acrobatics than I do to add strength to her strikes. Meanwhile, you are more of a medium-style user, using Soresu defenses to make up for the style's low defense. Do you have any preferences?”

Numa hesitantly nodded. “Yes. I was thinking of making two lightsabers and learning Jar'Kai. It would help boost my offense for my style and give me more range. Range is one of the weaknesses of the fast-style, after all.”

Harry nodded in agreement. As a fellow fast-style user, he knew well the weaknesses of the style. It's limited range made it weak against opponents with a larger range and twin blades would solve that. It also didn't give the user enough power behind his strikes to break through a strong defense, which Harry solved using Makashi precision techniques to cut the opponent up little by little till they couldn't go anymore.

However... “There's one problem with that idea.” At Numa;s questioning look, he continued. “The fast-style's third weakness along with decreased range and low power behind strikes is its low defense. Since we tend to keep our blades close to our body and focus more on speed than strength, an opponent strong enough can just batter our defenses down until they break.”

Numa frowned at that but conceded the point. “So what do you recommend?”

“Well,” said Harry slowly. “The idea of twin swords is a good one and solves two of your style's problems. You could do either one of two things. To cover for the third weakness you should either build up your upper body strength so you could defend against single blade users strength or your leg strength like I do to simply evade or dodge their strikes. You could also incorporate unarmed combat into your style so you have more avenues of attack. That way if he saber locks with you, you could just kick him away to regain distance. I'd also look up principles of Sokan and Su Ma to incorporate into your style.”

Numa nodded thoughtfully, mulling over his advice.

“Also,” continued Harry. “Jar'Kai users tend to rely too much on their bladework and forget about the Force. That makes them vulnerable to Force attacks so be careful not to fall into that trap.”

“Okay then,” said Numa, filing all the information away for later training. “So what hilt should I build? Two of the same obviously but which ones?”

Harry went over to his desk and grabbed a datapad on lightsaber hilts he was studying and copied it onto another datapad. He highlighted a few hilts and passed it over to Numa. “I think these would be best for your style. I would recommend a curved-hilt lightsaber like what I want but the design has been lost and I'm basically creating it from scratch and some references to Dooku's lightsaber.”

Numa looked over the datapad before smiling up at Harry. “”Thanks Harry. I knew you could help.”

“No problem,” said Harry easily.

“Hey, what about me?” complained Alema from the bed. She pouted up at Harry cutely. “I need help too. Or have you forgotten about me already?

Harry chuckled. “It would be impossible to forget about you, Alema. Now, your preferred style is the medium-style, right?”

Alema nodded. “Yeah. Most people look down on it but I like how it balances power and speed. I'm more of a Force-user than a lightsaber combatant anyway but I'd like help in building a strong style if you can.”

Harry nodded in thought as he looked up at the ceiling, thinking about the style's weaknesses and strengths. “Well, the style is very good but takes years of experience to truly master. I would recommend you learning some Soresu defense to cover the style's weakness in that area. That would give you a solid defense against opponents. I'd also look into incorporating Force attacks into your style. Channeling the Force through your body for stronger kicks and punches, Force pushes, and stuff like that.”

“As for lightsaber hilt...” said Harry thoughtfully. “For now, build a simple lightsaber hilt and maybe a shoto for back-up. Learn some Jar'Kai techniques so you'll be able to use both if necessary. For the main lightsaber, I'd recommend the Retaliator hilt. I've been looking up more exotic lightsaber hilts and I've heard rumors about a guard shoto design but haven't been able to find any references to it. If I do, I'd recommend building that since it fits well with your stealth mode of combat.”

Harry gave Alema another copy of his lightsaber hilt information and she smiled as she looked it over.

“Thanks Harry,” said Alema sincerely. “It means a lot that you're so willing to help us.”

“She's right,” said Numa gratefully from her seat. “It does. Most guys would ask for something in return for their help and you not only do it for free but give us advice to improve our styles and in-depth info on other options.”

Harry blushed slightly, not sued to such praise from pretty girls his age. “It's nothing. You're my friends, after all.”

The sisters exchanged a look before smiling identically. They both stood up and walked to stand on either side of Harry before placing their heads on his shoulders and wrapped their arms around him.

“Such a nice guy should get a reward, don't you think?” purred Alema from his right, getting him to gulp from her tone alone.

“Very much so,” purred an equally seductive looking Numa from his left.

At that, both girls laid a soft kiss on either corner of his lips. If that was all, Harry would have been fine. However, Numa ground herself onto his hip while Alema placed her hand on top of his 'little lightsaber' and rubbed it slightly.

Harry gulped as he shivered at the feeling of Numa's obvious arousal being felt as well as his own arousal being handled by Alema's expert touch. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't help his mind going into the gutter as he imagined what it would fell like if there were less clothing in the way.

Both girls stopped their kiss at the same time, lust covering both of their eyes, Alema's more obvious than Numa's. With effort, the girls disentangled themselves from him and stood in front of him with inviting smiles on their faces.

“Thanks for the help, Harry,” said Numa with a slight blush on her cheeks as she made to leave the room.

“Yeah, thanks,” repeated Alema, thought unlike her sister she made no move to leave and actually looked like she wanted to continue where they left off. It wasn't until Numa noticed her sister not moving and grabbed her arm that Alema reluctantly left with a pout on her lips after grabbing the two datapads Harry had given them.

“Night, Harry,” said a blushing Numa.

“Goodnight, handsome,” purred Alema before being pulled from the room by her sister.

Harry was left standing in the middle of his room, heavily aroused and barely capable of thinking straight. He sighed and looked down at his arousal in exasperation. “Now what am I supposed to do about this?”

* * *

**Jedi Praxeum, Harry's room, the next day (8am)**

“I still don't understand why you're building three lightsabers,” said Bey Gandar while shaking his head in exasperation. “It seems like a lot of extra work when one will do.”

It was the day after Harry helped the Rar twins with their problem and the group was gathered together eating breakfast. Harry and the Rar twins were excused from afternoon classes to build their lightsabers so they had decided to tell their friends about their plans. The group had been surprised when harry told them he would be building three lightsabers sometimes in the future, bringing about their current conversation.

Yabele smirked. “Maybe Harry is trying to build a third one to compensate for something that's less than impressive.”

No one missed the insinuation and Harry gave him a rude hand gesture for his comment while studiously ignoring his friends' laughter.

At Harry's right, Alema smirked. “Oh, it's very impressive. Believe me, I know personally.” The last part was said in a purring and seductive tone that reminded Harry way too much of what happened last night, causing to move slightly to adjust his pants.

Everyone noticed her tone and the way Harry fidgeted and refused to meet their eyes, causing them to automatically assume the worst. “Did you two...?” Klin-Fa blushed as she made a circle in one hand and stuck a finger through it to indicate what she meant.

“No!” exclaimed Harry, before ducking his head when he noticed the Masters, which included his mother, looking in their direction at his yell. “No. She just, um...”

“I felt him up last night,” explained Alema shamelessly. “And let me tell you that he has nothing to be ashamed of.”

All the girls at the table blushed while the boys looked at Harry in envy, causing him to try and change the subject.

“I'm making one main lightsaber,” explained Harry, getting back to their original discussion. “The other two are going to be curved-hilt lightsabers used exclusively in lightsabers duels. It's to take advantage of my ability to see shatterpoints and natural agility to break an opponents defense quickly.”

“So, you'll only use the other two if faced against another lightsaber user?” asked Bey questioningly with a hint of confusion. “But the only lightsaber users are other Jedi.”

“You never know Bey,” stated Harry seriously. “How many Force cultures are there in the galaxy? A dozen? More? Any one of them could use a similar weapon. Also, the Old Order thought the Sith extinct and then Palpatine destroyed them. You always have to be ready for any eventuality.”

The group fell into somber silence. What Harry said was true but they didn't want to think about it. At their age, they didn't want to worry about future battles or threats. However, being Jedi meant they had to grow up faster than others and accept the galaxy for what it was and not for how they imagined it was. They doubted they'd have peace throughout their entire lifetime.

“By the way, when are the new arrivals getting here?” asked Harry curiously.

“They said they'd arrive in about four days,” answered Klin-Fa. “There are already a few new kids here already. There's one sitting alone over there.”

Harry looked in the direction she was indicating to see who she was talking about. Sitting at a table alone was a little girl no more than 9 at the most with blond hair and green eyes. She wasn't wearing any shoes at all from what he could see and was looking around with a hint of excitement and wariness. It was obvious she was nervous, not helped by the fact that she was sitting alone.

“Her name is Tahiri Veila,” explained Yabele. “She was found on Tatooine by Masters Tionne and Skywalker and brought for training. Supposedly, she doesn't like wearing shoes because she likes the cool floors compared to the hot desert sands of the desert.”

“Has she made any friends yet?” asked Harry curiously. He frowned when they shook their heads. “Then let's invite her here. She must be lonely being in a strange place all alone.”

Yabele fidgeted at his words. “Yeah, I know. I would invite her over too but... well, she's so much younger than us that I feel like I'm crowding her by inviting her with kids so much older than her.”

“Nonsense,” said Klin-Fa with a frown. “As her seniors, it's our job to make her feel welcome. Come on, Alema. Let's go invite her to sit with us.”

“I'll come too,” said Harry firmly.

That said, the three made their way toward the younger girl who looked up in confusion and slight nervousness as they approached.

“Hello there,” started Harry with a smile. “I'm Harry Potter and these are my friends Klin-Fa and Alema. 

“Hello,” said Tahiri meekly.” My name is Tahiri Veila. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Tahiri,” said Harry with a sincere smile, getting Tahiri to relax slightly. “We just saw you sitting here alone and wondered if you'd like to sit with us.”

Tahiri looked over at their table to see the others waving with a smile before looking back at Harry. “Really? I don't want to be a bother.” 

“Nonsense,” said Alema with a small smile. “You're one of us now so it's our job to make you feel welcome.”

Tahiri looked from Alema to Harry and smiled brightly before grabbing her breakfast and walking with them back to his table. When they reached the table, everyone looked toward Tahiri, curious about the new girl at the Academy.

“Hey everyone, this is Tahiri,” said Harry pointing to the girl in question. “Tahiri, these are Yabeley, Bey Gander and Alema's twin sister, Numa.” As he introduced them, he pointed to each in turn, the person being mentioned waving at her in greeting.

“Nice to meet you all,” said Tahiri brightly as she sat next to Numa who made space for the younger girl.

“So, Tahiri,” said Klin-Fa as she sat back down on the table. “How do you like the Academy so far?”

“It's great! I'm learning so much and I can't wait to build a lightsaber!” said Tahiri happily. She turned to Harry with a questioning look on her face. “When do we get to build them?”

Harry swallowed his juice before answering. “Well, it depends on the Masters really. Me and the twins were recently given permission to build them but Klin-Fa, Yabeley and Bey, who entered at the same time as us, haven't. So it depends on how quickly you learn and what the Masters think.”

Tahiri nodded in understanding before turning to Numa and Alema who were sitting on either side of Harry and addressing the three at once.. “Did you make your crystals yet?”asked Tahiri curiously.

“Well, I already have mine ready,” said Harry slowly before frowning at the twins. “But I don't know about them. Do you guys have your crystals already? If you need any, I have plenty of extras.”

The twins smiled gratefully at Harry but nodded their heads. “We do, actually. We each have a pair of naturally made pontite crystals that we're going to use.”

Everyone gaped at her in shock. Pontite crystals were the rarest form of adegan crystal known. It was also one of the rarer crystals available for lightsaber construction. With the loss of Ilum, adegan crystals, even the common ones were extremely rare. So for them to have some at all much less the rarest form was incredible.

“How did you find them?” asked Yabele in surprise.

Numa looked down at her food with a frown while Alema gave sad smile and said, “Our former owner considered us the pride of his collection. He liked to decorate us and gave us both a matching pair of pontite earrings that we had to wear when we danced for him.”

Unsaid but that everyone except Tahiri understood was that the earrings were all that they wore when they danced for him. Harry reached under the table and gave Numa's hand a comforting squeeze which brought her out of her mutilation of her food. Harry smiled at her reassuringly and she gave him a grateful smile and squeeze of his hand before going back to her food.

On Harry's other side, Alema shook her head and smiled genuinely saying, “It's the past. Now they'll be the core of our lightsaber to symbolize our new life and to never forget that even slaves can become great.”

Everyone smiled at her declaration. They felt proud at her acceptance of both her past and her new future. A small voice in Harry's head asked whether he had accepted his past but he banished it to the back of his head.

After eating and talking amongst themselves for a while, the group left towards lessons.

* * *

**Later that same day**

Harry was meditating cross-legged on the floor of his room surrounded by the parts to build his lightsaber.

Tahiri had turned out to be a veritable ball of sunshine and brought some much-needed optimism to the group. Also, unlike Jacen's jokes, her jokes were actually funny. He found it especially amusing when Tahiri got over her shyness and got the courage to even talk back to Bey when said something she didn't agree with. The girl was a veritable spitfire when she got going.

Banishing those thoughts, Harry concentrated on the task at hand: building his main lightsaber.

The three crystals (the hurrikaine, the jenruax and the extra crystal to make it waterproof) were arranged in front of Harry in a horizontal line, waiting for him to infuse them with the Force. Slowly, Harry started to infuse them with his Force energies. He needed to do this slowly and carefully because doing it too fast or infusing them with too much Force energy could damage them.

After hearing them start to hum in the Force with a signature nearly identical to his own, Harry stopped. Slowly, Harry started to float the pieces of his future lightsaber in front of him. As he did the day before, he used the Force to guide him in putting them all together. He left it in only two pieces; the handgrip to the emitter and the bottom portion which housed the diatium power cell and contained the crystal housing.

For this part, Harry gave his total concentration. First, he slowly floated the hurrikaine crystal to the main crystal housing. He inserted it perfectly into place. After making sure it was perfectly in place, he inserted in the jenruax crystal in the primary focusing crystal slot.The crystal fell into place and Harry the two crystals start to resonate in the Force. Harry felt deep in his bones that this was exactly how it was meant to be and forcibly calmed himself down for the next part. Finally, Harry inserted the final crystal into the secondary focusing crystal housing. He made sure to arrange it in a manner so the lightsaber would work underwater and put the lightsaber together. When the final click signifying the lightsaber was complete was heard, Harry felt an instant connection between him and his lightsaber, as if it was a long-lost friend he'd forgotten until now.

Harry knew, he knew, that this lightsaber was his and his alone. He could feel it in his bones. He briefly wondered if this was how all Jedi of the Old Order felt of their lightsabers before banishing those thoughts. Slowly and with rising excitement, Harry grabbed his completed lightsaber and turned it on.

The first thing he noticed was that the blade a dark blue color similar to the deep ocean, something which pleased him since it was the same color as his mother's lightsaber. The second thing he noticed was that the moment Harry switched it on, he felt his connection to the lightsaber and the lightsaber crystals themselves solidify. He wondered if it was like that with all Jedi or something to do with the way he went around getting the crystals. Still, it didn't matter, all that mattered was that he had built his lightsaber.

Made in the imitation of Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, it had a solid casing and a heavily shrouded emitter. The beveled emitter was designed to designate separate facets of the blade for either offense or defense. The lightsaber hilt also included a ridged hand grip which was good to deal powerful strikes. All in all, except for the silvery blue color of the hilt, it was a perfect imitation. Holding it in his hand, despite him being a fast style user, it felt as though it was meant for him.

Holding the blade in the standard Form II salute, Harry smiled. He finally felt like a Jedi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And there's chapter 4!
> 
> More changes and a better insight into the relationship between Harry and the Rar twins. Much like Harry's relationship with Astraal in version 1, the relationship will play a pivotal role in his development as he matures.
> 
> As always, Read and Review!


	5. Reunion of Old Friends and Duels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter 5**

**Two days later, Jedi Praxeum hangar, 22 ABY**

As Harry stood in the Jedi Praxeum hangar waiting for the Solo twins to arrive, he couldn't help but feel a mixture of nervous and excited.

While Harry was excited to see the twins again after not seeing beyond a holo-call in eight months, he was nervous because of the exhibition spar he was going to give later.

In order to boost morale in the students and give the newly arrived students a taste of what it they would learn, Masters Katarn and Luke had decided that Alema, Numa and Harry would have an exhibition match against opponents of their choice. None of them knew who they would be sparring against but hoped it wouldn't be any of the Masters though it probably would. All if three of them had been shocked when they were told yesterday and had been nervous all night and this morning afterwards. While confident in their skills, they weren't so arrogant as to think they could go toe to toe with the more experience Knights and Masters.

Alema and Numa had just built their lightsabers yesterday morning after being encouraged by Harry's success. Alema had built a single silver lightsaber with a Retaliator style hilt while Numa built the double-bladed Vindicator hilt which glowed a blue color similar to the color of her skin. Right now Numa had her lightsaber in its dual blade fashion since she had no training in using it double-bladed. The most she could do is put them temporarily off-balance in surprise so she decided she would stick to what she knew and learn afterwards.

As for Harry himself, he was mentally debating whether to use a single blade or dual blades like Numa before opting for the former. As much as dual blades would allow him more angles of attack, he only had the one blade created and using someone else's as temporary replacement just didn't feel right.

Harry was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of a familiar ship approaching. Harry smiled as he saw the Millennium Falcon break the cloud bank and head toward the hangar. Harry had felt their presence the moment they entered the system and their joy was infectious as he felt a smile cross his face.

“You look happy,” said Alema from his right. He turned to her to see her giving him a bemused look. “Happy to see your siblings in all but blood?”

“Of course!” responded Harry happily as the Falcon landed. “I haven't seen them in eight months except for holo-calls and it just isn't the same. I'm just glad we'll finally train together again. I've missed that, especially training with Jaina.”

Alema gave him a strange look but he was stopped from asking about it when he heard a happy shout coming from the Falcon's walkway.

Running toward him with a happy smile on her face was none other than Jaina Solo herself. The moment their eyes met, he felt that familiar connection between them instantly flare once more where it had gone dormant months ago. The connection between them had formed from years of history and while not quite like her connection to her twin or even her blood family, it was just as strong and always let the other know if something was wrong with the other. 

Harry barely got his arms up in time to catch her flying tackle/hug and let out a woof of air when she hit. “Damn, Jay-jay,” false complained Harry. “Have you put on some weight? OW!”

Jaina huffed as he let her back down to the floor after her smack across the back of the head. “Serves you right. You haven't seen me in months and the first thing you say is that I'm fat. Obviously, you haven't learned the important things in the Academy. Like common decency.”

Harry just laughed and drew her in for another hug. “Force, I've missed you Jay-jay!”

Jaina smiled and felt a blush come to her face as she felt Harry's slightly muscular body pressed against her own developing one. When she had first run down the walkway, she had been looking for her old childhood friend and companion. You could imagine her shock when she saw this... man standing not far from her, looking exactly like her old friend if only a bit older.

Harry had always been her closest friend and she could trust him second only to her twin. Even then, she could tell him stuff she couldn't tell her brother either because of how embarrassing it was or because it involved him somehow. Everything from her fears about the dark side to her burgeoning feelings for Zekk, she told him. Her feelings for him had always been strictly platonic, if a little possessive since he was her Harry.

Yet now, seeing him after so long, looking so rugged and, dare she say it, handsome, she felt a strange fluttering in her stomach. It confused her but she simply ignored it and basked in the feeling of being around her closest friend once more.

“Ehem!” Harry and Jaina broke apart to see a slightly annoyed Alema and an amused Numa standing there, the former being the one who spoke. “Can you care to introduce us or will we stand here all day like decorations?”

Harry blushed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Sorry. Girls, this is Jaina Solo, my closest childhood friend. Jaina, these are Alema and Numa Rar, two fellow younglings in my year at the Academy. They actually stay in the same corridor as me in the apprentice wing of the Academy.”

Jaina smiled and waved at the two Twi'lek girls. “Pleasure to meet you, I'm Jaina. Harry's told me all about you two.”

“Funny, he seems to have left out some things about his relationship with you,” muttered Alema under her breath before her sister elbowed her to shut her up. “I mean, it's nice to meet you too. He's told us a lot about you too. His cute little sister Jaina and all.”

Jaina frowned as she felt her stomach drop at their words. 'Little sister?' thought Jaina sadly. Jaina shook it off and smiled once more though it was smaller than before. She turned around when she heard her name being called and saw it was her siblings yelling at her to get her stuff.

Smiling sheepishly, Jaina turned to Harry. “Sorry, I need to get my stuff. We'll talk later?”

“I'll help you,” said Harry with a smile, getting a grateful one in return. “You can tell me what you've been up to and I'll tell you about classes here. Then I'll take you to your assigned room before the assembly later today.” He turned to Alema and Numa. “I'll see you guys later, okay? I need to help Jaina with her stuff. We'll meet up before the assembly.”

Alema frowned but Numa smiled and spoke. “That's fine, Harry. We'll see you later.”

Jaina smiled at that and led Harry toward the Falcon. Back with the Rar twins, Alema was frowning as she stared at their retreating backs. 

“Very close for just siblings, huh?” muttered Alema to her sister.

Numa sighed and rolled her eyes. “They haven't seen each other in months, Alema. Of course they're going to be happy to see each other. It would be strange if they weren't. So stop being so jealous. They're just siblings.”

Alema narrowed her eyes as she saw Harry and Jaina laughing and joking together but eventually sighed. “You're right, sis. I'm just being stupid.” Then, she smirked mischievously. “Plus, how can she hope to compete with a hot Twi'lek girl much less two if we decide to share him?”

Numa blushed at her sister's words. “Alema!” 

Her sister just laughed and dragged her her out of the hangar to find their other friends.

An hour later found Harry leading Jaina into her new room. “Here's your room,” said Harry as he entered Jaina's assigned room and put her bag at the foot of her bed. “All the rooms are exactly the same so you'll have to personalize it if you want to.”

Jaina looked around and nodded absently as she looked around and placed the bags she was carrying on the bed. “I'll do that but this is nice. We even get a cool view.” She pointed at the view of the jungle she had and Harry smiled.

“True,” agreed Harry. “You're actually not far from my room. Mine is two rooms to your left when you leave the room. Wanna see my room?”

Jaina nodded and Harry led her towards his room. Opening the door, Harry sighed as he cracked his neck slightly. “Make yourself at home. I'm gonna check something so feel free to look around.”

Jaina looked around as Harry went to his desk and started to fiddle with something on it. The room was obviously an exact duplicate of her own except it had various stuff and pictures showing it was Harry's room. Jaina could see a picture of the entire family sitting on his dresser next to the holo-clock as well as datapads thrown here and there. She smiled to herself as the room reminded her of Harry's own room back home, with datapads full of information he'd found interested thrown carelessly everywhere. He never liked having a single datapad with all his information, saying if it got lost he'd lose everything and also because he liked having a datapad per subject that interested him.

There was also a large machine along one wall which caused Jaina to frown slightly. She approached it and looked through a window on the top before she realized it was a geological compressor. It was used to recreate certain natural environments but was also used by Jedi (and Sith) to create synthetic lightsaber crystals or compress natural ones.

Jaina was brought out of her studying when she heard Harry curse. She walked over to where he was at his desk to see him fiddling with a pair of dismantled lightsaber handles. Jaina's eyes glittered at the sight and was instantly at his side, Harry subconsciously adjusting himself to give her room without even noticing.

“Where'd you get all this?!” asked Jaina excitedly. “Did you build this?!”

Harry smiled and nodded. “Yeah. I actually just built my lightsaber two days ago. However, it isn't in the style I want it to be since the design I want no longer exists in our databanks so I'm trying to recreate it from scratch.”

Jaina's eyes glittered and she had to stop herself from just grabbing the nearest completed lightsaber and taking it apart. Harry noticed the look in her eyes and smiled. “If you want, you can take a few completed ones to fiddle with yourself but take out the crystals first so you don't accidentally hurt yourself. They may be training sabers but it's possible to turn them into full-on lightsabers by accident and seriously hurt yourself. Believe me, it happened to me and I almost impaled myself.”

Jaina winced at the image but gratefully took a few of the completed lightsabers for later tinkering. “Thanks, Harry.” She looked up at him to see him smiling at her, getting the strange fluttering in her stomach once more.

As for Harry, he felt a similar feeling as he stared down at the shorter girl. He hadn't realized just how much he'd missed Jaina until he saw her again. It was like a part of him he didn't know he was missing had returned.

But it was only now with Jaina so close that he realized other things about her he hadn't noticed before. Like the way her brown eyes seem to glitter slightly in the light and how cute it was when she bit her lip when she was nervous. He noticed how Jaina had actually matured from a cute twelve year old girl who perpetually had a grease stains somewhere to a pretty thirteen year old teenage girl who, while not as developed as the Rar twins, was definitely proving that she was a woman if the curves she was growing were any indication.

Without either noticing, the two started to get closer. Harry gently laid a hand on Jaina's waist and drew her closer, as Jaina's eyelids started to flutter closed. The two started to get closer and closer....

… only to be interrupted by a knock on the door. The surprise caused them to break apart like they had been burned and blush brightly as they realized what had been about to happen.

“C-Come in!” called out Harry when he had managed to control his blush. Why were they about to kiss? He didn't feel that way about her.... did he?

The door opened to reveal Numa who blinked in surprise to see Jaina there but just shrugged. “Harry, we need to be getting ready for the demonstration later. The Masters want us at the Grand Audience Chamber already so we now who we'll be fighting.”

Harry nodded in understanding. “I'll be right there. Let me just get my stuff ready and I'll meet you there.”

Numa nodded and after one last questioning glance at Jaina, who had refused to look up from her almost robotic tinkering of a lightsaber on the desk, she left the room.

The room was silent for a moment as both childhood friends tried to process what had almost happened before they were interrupted. Both were confused as to what it meant and whether it meant deeper feelings or if it was spur of the moment.

Jaina was the first to crack and, not wanting to talk about what almost happened, she looked up at Harry with a questioning look. “What demonstration was she talking about?”

Seizing the opportunity to escape the awkwardness, Harry quickly answered. “Since me, Alema and Numa finished our lightsabers, the Masters asked us to give a short sparring demonstration to the new arrivals to motivate them and show them what to expect in the future. They haven't told us who we're fighting yet though I expect it'll be one of the Masters.”

Jaina nodded in understanding before the awkwardness returned. Before Harry could speak, Jaina got up and made her way to the door. “Well, I better go finish unpacking so I can watch you fight. Wouldn't want to miss that.”

“Y-Yeah,” stammered Harry before shaking his head and calling Jaina to stop for a second. Once she did, he smiled at her and pointed at the geological compressor. “When you build your lightsaber, you're welcome to use that if you want.”

Jaina smiled genuinely at him and nodded. “I'll do that. Thanks.”

Harry watched as Jaina left the room and let out a sigh as he collapsed on his bed. “What just happened?”

* * *

**Grand Audience Chamber**

Harry, Alema and Numa were currently standing beside the Masters in front of the group of padawans. Harry could see the excited faces of Jacen, Jaina, Tahiri and Anakin from where Jaina had elbowed her way to the front. Standing near them was a pretty red-haired girl with green eyes and a serious look on her face. Harry could also see Klin-Fa, Yabeley and Bey standing not far from them and smiled when Yabeley sent him a thumbs up. 

Once everyone had settled down, Luke began his announcement. “Now, we're all here. Today we have a special treat for you. Three of your fellow apprentices had been chosen to build lightsabers last week.”

At this, the padawans broke into whispers of excitement. It was obvious that Alema, Numa and I were those padawans due to us standing in front of them. Harry couldn't help but feel his nervousness spike at seeing so many children watching him. As his nervousness rose, Harry started feeling calming waves in the Force directed toward him from his mother who was standing to his right. He smiled thankfully at her and then turned back toward the group.

“These students were Harry Potter, Alema Rar and Numa Rar,” confirmed Luke.

At this declaration, the noise level rose. Harry's expertise in lightsaber combat was well-known in the Academy among those who entered with him while the new students knew him from rumors or from knowing him personally. In training sessions with training lightsabers, he dominated even against the older apprentices. Numa was just below him in skill and Alema was above average though not as good as the former two. A spar with them promised to be very exciting.

“They all finished their lightsabers just yesterday and have agreed to give us a small exhibition match,” said Luke calmly.

'Agreed my ass,' thought Harry defiantly. 'You said we would and that we should help raise morale for those that hadn't built theirs' yet.'

Despite his thoughts, Harry didn't actually mind doing an exhibition match for the padawans benefit. He was just nervous since he had been told he would be fighting Luke himself. The idea of facing the greatest swordsman in the Order, despite Luke's assertion that the other Masters were just as good as him, made Harry extremely nervous. The day Harry believed that was the day a good and kind Sith Lord who believed in talking things out appeared. None of the other Masters had ever beaten Palpatine in one-on-one combat.

“First, Alema will face Master Jade until one surrenders, is disarmed or lands a blow with his/her lightsaber,” explained Luke. “Then, Numa will face Master Katarn and finally it will Harry facing myself.”

It was obvious on everyone's face which match they were looking forward to. Luke must have noticed too because he smiled knowingly at them.

“Now, clear a circular space about 20 meters across,” said Luke.

The padawans quickly complied and after a quick scuffle to get the best seats, they had the area cleared. Harry could see Jacen massaging his ribs from where a padawan had elbowed him in an attempt to get to the front. Unfortunately for that padawan, Jaina saw it and retaliated with a kick to the boy's shins. Harry hoped Jaina was never apprenticed to his mother. If she was, those kicks would be aimed at areas that should never be hit on a male's body.

“The first match will be Alema Rar against Master Jade,” announced Luke calmly as both mentioned combatants walked to the center of the makeshift arena. The circular area was clear of obstructions since this was a simple exhibition match of lightsaber skill. No Force techniques beyond increasing speed and reflexes was allowed. Both combatants faced each other from 10 feet away. A distance far enough away to not give either an advantage but close enough that they can quickly engage in combat.

Alema activated her silver lightsaber and Mara activated her own blue, the very same one Harry had modeled his lightsaber after. Both combatants eyed each other for a moment before clashing in a shower of sparks.

The audience whispered excitedly (in the apprentices' case) and questioningly (in the Masters') as the two combatants exchanged blows. Harry himself was eying the fight and analyzing both combatants styles.

In a way, it was the best and worst match-up for Alema possible. While his mother was mostly a Djem So and strong style user, she mixed it with unarmed combat in the form of kicks and punches when necessary. Meanwhile, Alema used the medium-style which didn't emphasize on either offense or defense but had a balance of both. The problem, of course, was that it took years of experience to master and use against those using other styles.

That plus the restriction on Force techniques severely limited Alema's style, leaving her with only lightsaber skill which wasn't her best area of Jedi techniques.

Still, she did very well, managing to defend herself against Mara's onslaught using Soresu defensive techniques and her flexibility to dodge the ones she couldn't block. However, it was obvious Mara was holding back and only testing her and it was only a matter of time before Mara disarmed her and won the duel.

Alema and Mara fought up and down the arena, Alema being pressed back and trying to maneuver Mara into a more advantageous position only for Mara to cut her off. Despite this, Mara also couldn't seem to land a finishing hit without exposing herself due to Alema's tight defense. They slowly made their way back to the center once more and that was when Alema revealed her surprise.

Her stance changed marginally and suddenly she attacked, using a mix of Djem So and Makashi to launch a flurry of precise yet powerful blows. She used Djem So's usage of counterattacks to press the attack, not giving Mara time to recover.

Harry's eyebrows rose at the usage of Makashgi and turned to Numa with a questioning look. Numa caught it and smiled. “She learned them from watching you. She knew she needed a good offensive way of fighting or else she'd just be delaying the inevitable. So she used what she learned from watching you plus some strong style techniques for a last resort offensive barrage.”

Mara was momentarily surprised by the change in pace but subconsciously adapted and held off Alema's onslaught with some effort. Alema's attack continued for a while before she started to tire.

That was when Harry saw why Numa said it was a last resort barrage. Alema didn't have the physical strength for Djem So so she drastically augmented herself using the Force in order to surprise her opponent and end the fight. However, Mara was too experienced to fall for that and managed to fend her off. The problem was that Alema couldn't maintain the barrage for long and quickly tired.

Eventually, Alema was disarmed and put her hands up in surrender. Mara smiled and turned off her own lightsaber before laying a hand on Alema's shoulder. “Well done, Padawan Rar. You're Master should be proud.”

Alema smiled gratefully and picked up her lightsaber before walking toward Harry and Numa where they were clapping in congratulations.

They weren't the only ones as the rest of the Padawans hooted and hollered at having seen such a great fight. There were excited mutterings about upping their own lightsaber training and building their own lightsabers as well.

Luke waited till they had calmed down once more before speaking. “Now, the second match will be Numa Rar against Master Katarn.”

Numa suddenly looked visibly nervous and she had reason to. Kyle Katarn was the battlemaster of the Academy, as well as the former master of the famous Jaden Korr, hero of the Disciples of Ragnos incident. Despite this, she visibly calmed herself down and removed her outer robes. Under her robes, she was wearing a skin-tight white shirt and pants that allowed her freedom of movement and did not hinder her in anyway. She also wore a pair of white combat boots that gave good traction while not being overly heavy. Harry noticed that she had grown very well in the past eight months in all the right places. Meanwhile, Jaina noticed Harry's attention on Numa and scowled.

Numa ignored the appreciative looks and catcalls she was receiving (though she did blush when she noticed Harry's appreciative glance) and turned on both of her lightsabers. They were both a light blue color similar to the color of her skin and Harry wondered if she did it deliberately or it just came like that. 

Numa held them loosely but securely at her sides as she gave Master Katarn the Form II salute before placing herself in the standard Niman/Jar'kai opening stance: body sideways to the opponent with one lightsaber behind her in a reverse grip with the other in front of her in the standard grip (both were parallel to the ground). She had picked up the habit of saluting her opponent from Harry after the many times she had sparred with him and he had given her that same salute beforehand.

Kyle returned her salute (albeit with less grace due to not having done it before) before settling himself into the opening stance of Form V. Harry frowned in thought. It seemed slightly ominous that the only surviving lightsaber forms were the most aggressive ones. Forms IV through VI had all survived the Purge through the surviving Jedi. Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade Skywalker and Kyle Katarn all knew these three forms. They were also considered as the most powerful of the current Jedi Masters both in terms of Force ability and lightsaber combat. Luke and Mara had tried to find any surviving information on Form VII for Harry's usage due to the creator of the Vaapad variant being the only other known Jedi to see shatterpoints. They believed that the style would complement his ability. 

Personally, Harry believed the style was Master Windu's alone. It was more than a fighting style but a state of mind and only someone like him could truly wield it without falling to the dark side. While Harry would study the style, he wouldn't fall prey to the belief that it was meant for him simply because he also saw shatterpoints. He would create his own style that fit him as a person and not a style meant for another.

Harry banished such thoughts and returned to watching the match at hand.

Unlike the previous match, the combatants hadn't moved from their ready stances and seemed to be circling each other, trying to find weaknesses in the opponents guard. Finding no obvious ones, they decided to get it over with and quickly attacked each other.

Numa opened up with a lightning quick barrage of fast style blows designed to open a hole in the opponents defense. Kyle easily blocked the blows and responded with a strong style opening attack; a vertical slice downwards. Numa was forced to use both lightsabers to defend against the strong attack  
and so missed the kick aimed at her midsection.

Numa took the hit and turned it into a backwards roll causing Kyle to miss his follow-up strike. Numa quickly recovered from the roll and used Force speed to quickly close the distance once more. She unleashed a lightning fast barrage of blows from all possible angles seeking to cause at least one to land. She was partially successful because she managed to slightly cut his robes on his right shoulder but failed to cut the skin.

However, this was bait in order to cause Numa to overextend herself. She realized this too late and received a strong kick to the chin as her reward. To her credit, she managed to absorb most of the hit by turning it into a backflip in a standard Ataru recovery but was still lightly dazed by the strong hit.

She quickly recovered and changed tactics. She started using Force-assisted leaps to try to attack Kyle from many angles, using her dual lightsabers to great effect. She apparently took Harry's advice to heart and added strength to her blows by using rotations and flips in mid-air. At one point, she used the momentum of Kyle's blocks to leap over him and try to catch him off-guard from behind. 

However, Kyle quickly adapted and barely blinked an eye at her liberal use of Ataru. When she attempted to leap over him again, Kyle scored a light cut on her abdomen that while failed to cut the skin, managed to cut her shirt. Astraal landed less gracefully than normal, making sure that the cut hadn't parted skin and ended the duel.

“You have an excellent recovery and are very fast,” complimented Kyle. “But you concentrate so much on opening a hole in your opponent's defense that you leave yourself open to a counterattack.”

Harry had noticed this as well months ago. In this case, that was a bad weakness to have against a Form V user, which emphasizes quick counterattacks. He had attempted to convince her to switch styles but she had refused. However, Numa suddenly slightly switched her stance. It was barely noticeable to anyone else but to Harry, a form II user, it was clear as day.

'When did she learn the basics of Makashi?' mused Harry thoughtfully.

Numa's attack pattern changed instantly. While before she used acrobatics and fast blows to open a hole in his defense, now she started applying light jabs and cuts from both blades to try to unbalance him. In Harry's completely unbiased opinion, it was akin to comparing a monkey with a blade jumping around trying to land a hit to a surgeon slowly picking apart Kyle's defenses till he made a mistake.

Whereas before Numa had left openings in her defense, now she had solid defense, always keeping one blade ready to deflect Kyle's counterattacks.

The battle quickly seemed to reach a stalemate with neither opponent seeming to be able to land a blow on the other. Despite his surprise at the unfamiliar form, Kyle's experience and superior ability allowed him to quickly recover. Numa tried to push her advantage but the battlemaster's defense was too solid.

The two duelists traded lightning fast blows, each trying to find and opening but finding none. As Harry watched, he realized she wasn't truly using Makashi. Makashi relied on economy of motion as well as swift jabs and cuts to weaken an opponent and prevent disarmament. While she certainly had the light jabs portion down, she still used sweeping attacks in an attempt to disarm instead of being patient and conserving her energy. In the beginning she had used true Makashi but it seemed like she was too used to Ataru and fell back on it too often. Harry knew that if she had stuck to Makashi, she might have managed to outlast her opponent due to Form V's tendency to waste energy on strong blows and quick counterattacks as well as blocking attacks instead of dodging or deflecting them. 

Then again, Numa wasn't truly a Makashi user and simply imitated what she had learned watching Harry and tried to apply it to her own style. While marginally successful, until she mastered Ataru itself, adding other forms' techniques would only open more holes than close them.

This became evident when Kyle started to retain the advantage, slowly pushing Num back. She attempted to recover her momentum with fast, precise strikes with one blade while another used strong sweeping strikes to weaken his defense. While good in theory, it was obvious that she wasn't used to it and lost her momentum even quicker.

Eventually, Kyle landed a strong strike that forced her to use both lightsabers to block. They disengaged when it became obvious that Kyle wouldn't be able to land a physical blow without her taking the offending limb. “The battle is over, Numa,” said Kyle. “You will eventually tire before me. Though I must admit you surprised me with that last change in style.”

Harry saw Numa look down for a second at her lightsabers' hilt as if contemplating using their other form before sighing, admitting defeat. “I yield.”

It was the best decision all things considered. Numa simply didn't have the experience to use it in its double-bladed form yet and would more than likely hurt herself trying. Surrender wasn't a bad thing. Sometimes admitting that you're over-matched took more courage than continuing against a more powerful opponent, especially since this was just a simple sparring match.

The audience broke into cheers at the sight of one of the best duels they'd ever seen. It was obvious to everyone that Master Katarn had been holding back. He barely looked winded and other than the light cut on his outer robes, he looked as if he had just had a pleasant stroll. Numa on the other hand was breathing heavily and was covered in sweat. She had given it her all and was content that she gave a good show. The approving nods from the Masters also boosted her confidence that she had done well.

Harry suddenly realized that it was his turn. Swallowing his nervousness, Harry prepared himself. He caught sight of Jaina in the audience and she gave him an encouraging smile and thumbs up which quickly made him feel better.

“Now that the second match is done,” said Luke. “We will move to the final match between myself and Harry.”

The audience instantly silenced, not wanting to miss a second of what promised to be an epic duel. Harry and Luke took the same places as the previous combatants had in the beginning of their matches and waited for Mara to give the signal to start. Harry removed his outer robe so as to have more mobility leaving him dressed in a loose short sleeved shirt, combat pants and boots. The latter two had been a gift from Mara when he entered the Academy. They provided full range of movement while not being too loose as to cause it to snag on something.

Harry had removed his weights yesterday morning and had spent the day getting used to his body without weights. That way he wouldn't make a mistake due to not being used to his new speed. Harry removed his lightsaber from his waist and held it loosely at his side. Luke had also removed his robes and had mimicked his stance: Legs slightly spread, lightsaber at the ready at his side.

Luke looked at Harry's lightsaber and his eyes widened slightly, obviously recognizing the style of the hilt. Harry smiled at his adoptive father and mouthed “in grandfather's honor”. Luke smiled genuinely at his adoptive son and nodded his head. In the Master's section of the audience, Mara had also noticed the style of the hilt.

'So that's why he asked to see it', she mused before eying Harry closely. 'Yet... I wonder when he'll realize that it's best to make a lightsaber for yourself than honoring another. That hilt is for Form V users, after all and he's a Form II user.'

Both combatants ignited their lightsabers at the same time and fell into their respective opening stances. Luke smiled in amusement at the color of Harry's lightsaber, once again mirroring Anakin Skywalker's and now Mara's lightsaber. Though he was wondering the same thing his wife was in regards to the lightsaber hilt.

Harry fell into his practiced Makashi opening stance: one hand behind him with the blade held like a fencer, while Luke fell into the Djem So opening stance. Both combatants slowly started to circle each other, trying to see an opening. While Harry only knew the basics of Makashi, it felt the most natural to him of all the forms so he fell back on it as his opening form in a duel.

The two combatants suddenly stopped circling and attacked. They traded a lightning fast barrage of strikes, both seeking to break the other's defense: Luke through sheer strength which Harry deflected to the side and Harry through precise jabs and strikes that forced Luke to be quick on the defense. When neither managed to find an obvious weakness, they disengaged.

After a second to assess the other, they once again clashed. However, this time it was obvious that Luke was dominating. He used sheer strength to break Harry's guard and pressed the attack, forcing Harry to defend and unable to use the finesse of form II.

Luke looked as calm as ever. Harry, on the other hand, was worried. He had just realized something that he hadn't taken into account before. His lightsaber was not made to allow Harry the fast barrage of jabs and cuts he was used to. The hilt was so different compared to the standard training lightsabers that he was forced to compensate by putting the hilt closer to his fingertips than he was used to. This caused him to have to grip the hilt tighter so it wouldn't be knocked out of his hand. This, in turn, caused him to be unable to let loose the barrage of lightning fast jabs that was his trademark. It was time for plan B.

Harry shifted his stance into a perfect imitation of Luke's: the form V Djem So opening stance. To the crowd, Harry and Luke looked almost like mirror images with the only difference being hair color and physique.

Suddenly, they clashed again. This time they both used a barrage of strong blows and quick counterattacks that were designed to used the opponent's momentum against them. However, Luke was holding back while Harry was still too inexperienced in the form to use it to its full potential. Despite this, Harry was slowly adapting to the form. This was obvious in how he was unconsciously mimicking some of Luke's more complex maneuvers.

They disengaged for the third time since the battle started and the audience was starting to get impatient.

“I don't understand,” said Mara. “Harry seems to be using either one form or another and isn't mixing them together. He'll never impress anyone if he focuses on the basics.”

“He's holding back,” stated Alema quietly. Seeing she grabbed the Masters attention, she explained. “He's testing both his skill with his new lightsaber and Luke's defenses before truly letting loose.”

“Why would he do that?” asked Master Tionne. “He would more easily be able to hold his own if he didn't. He can't possibly think he'd win, can he?”

Beside Alema, Numa shook her head and responded, “No, he knows he won't. However, he's afraid of accidentally hurting Luke. I've seen his personal style and it's very aggressive. It can catch an inexperienced opponent off-guard and cause serious damage. Luke is his father-figure and he's afraid of hurting him.”

The Masters looked at the duel where both combatants were once again exchanging a lightning fast barrage of strong blows. They had agreed to allow Luke to test Harry due to the latter's obvious prodigal skills. Luke's superior experience and skill would more than even that out. However, they had forgotten to take into account that Harry might feel conflicted. After all, they were using real and deadly lightsabers, not the training lightsabers that simply burn or bruise.

Back in the duel, Luke disengaged from Harry and frowned at him. “Harry, stop holding back,” admonished Luke. “I'll be fine, I'm not that old yet. I still have plenty of tricks up my sleeve.”

At his declaration, Harry was conflicted. He had hoped to give a good showing without resorting on his more aggressive style but it was becoming increasingly obvious that Luke was just too good for anything less than his best. Taking a deep breath, Harry settled into different stance: body sideways to the opponent, legs open with the blade held diagonally across his body. He opened himself to the Force in order to bolster his speed and strength for the duel.

Seeing Harry's changed stance and the determination in his eyes, Luke smiled at him and also opened himself to the Force; preparing himself for what promised to be a much harder duel. In the audience, Jaina noticed the determination in Harry's eyes and smiled and leaned forward excitedly for the start of the real match.

Unknown to her, Alema smiled at the familiar stance and muttered, “Now, Masters, the real duel will begin.” At her declaration, the Masters turned to the duel eagerly to see the real skill of what many considered a prodigy.

Harry and Luke clashed for the fourth, and what promised to be the final, time today. Whereas before Harry was using either the fluidity and elegance of Makashi or the strong blows and counterattacks of Djem So, now he was using both and neither.

Luke who was fighting him saw elements of Makashi in its elegance and economy of motion; not a single movement was wasted. He also saw elements of Djem So in how he used Luke's own blocks against him and quickly pushed the advantage, not giving an inch. However, he also saw elements of Ataru and even Niman, both styles that Luke didn't know he had studied. All of them were seamlessly connected in a fluid series of attacks that pressed Luke back and reminded him of trying to stop a powerful thunderstorm on Kamino with his bare hands.

As the duel continued, Harry seemed to become faster instead of slowing down. Despite this and the unfamiliar style, Luke easily defended against the surprisingly strong and fast blows.

The audience were wide-eyed at the fact that one of them was not only keeping up with Master Luke but actually managed to slightly push him back. At one point, Harry made a strong strike to Luke's left side. When Luke blocked it, he used the momentum of the block to twirl around Luke's back and attempted to place a cut on his unprotected back. Luckily for Luke, the Force had warned him and he fell into a forward roll to avoid it though he felt himself lose a few hairs.

Harry didn't give him a moment of respite and the moment he recovered, he had to defend against an even faster barrage of blows. Luke had to give himself over completely to the Force in order to defend against a barrage of blows too fast for the eye to follow.

Seeing that he was failing to land a blow with sheer speed alone, Harry slightly adjusted his tactics. He increased his speed drastically to the point that it seemed like he was wielding many blades at once. At the same time, he started switching the blade on and off so quickly that it gave the illusion that it was constantly on.

It was only Luke's experience and the Force that saved him from blocking a strike that wasn't there due to the blade being quickly turned off. He almost received a cut on his abdomen from the blade quickly being turned on inside his guard. Luke managed to suck in his gut, causing the blade to only cut his outer robes and not the skin. Luke tried to capitalize on his miss to strike back but Harry had fallen into a forward roll at his miss and was behind him. Luke quickly turned and blocked a slash to his back that would have ended the duel.

In the Masters' area, the Masters were excitedly whispering amongst themselves about Harry's style. They didn't recognize it and wondered if he had created it himself. Mara turned to the only one who could answer the question.

“When did he create his style?” she asked the Rar twins. “And what is it based on?”

“It's not a style,” said Numa simply. “In reality, it's just a technique to a style he's creating. It's base idea revolves around simply moving too fast for the opponent to track or defend against. What he's using now is what he calls the 'Endless thunderstorm', which involves sending a never-ending barrage of slashes and attacks while gaining more and more momentum from your opponent's blocks. The point is that at one point the opponent won't react fast enough to block it and will fail to block in time. Considering every strike is either disabling or fatal, it's a dangerous technique.”

Over the last three months, Harry had tested it out with his friends using training sabers. The many duels increased his endurance and smoothed out the wrinkles of the style. In the beginning, he was slightly clumsy in the style due to its unfamiliarity. Now, however, he used it as if he doing it since he was born.

'However, there is one weakness to those who know how to look,' mused Alema. 'Furthermore, the style was only really useful if one could see shatterpoints in order to end the fight quickly.' 

The weakness was becoming increasingly obvious. Ten minutes had passed since Harry started his barrage and while his speed wasn't faltering, he was drenched in sweat and was relying more and more on the Force to keep him going. Luke, on the other hand, was only looking slightly tired. While he was currently on the defense, he could turn it around easily once Harry slowed down.

Five minutes later, Harry finally started to slow down. The toll of using the Force as well as the blinding speed he was moving was weighing on him. Luke took advantage and landed a strong blow that made Harry's lightsaber fly from his tired grip.

Seeing that he was beaten, Harry lowered his head and said, “I yield.”

The audience broke into cheers at the display of lightsaber combat between two experts. Students eagerly discussed when they were going to build their lightsabers and promised themselves to increase their studies and practices so they can have the honor as well.

Back in the arena, Harry would have fallen in exhaustion if Luke hadn't managed to catch him. Luke used the Force to call Harry's lightsaber to him and gave it to the owner. “Thanks, Dad,” said Harry tiredly.

“No problem, son,” said Luke. “That was a very good technique. I imagine it's part of your developing style?” Harry nodded and Luke looked slightly impressed. “It's very good and in a couple years it'll be deadly. How would you defend against other fast style users?”

“Well, I would use the momentum of their speed to increase my own. In a real fight, I would also absorb their blows and turn it into Force energy to increase either my reflexes, my speed or use a Force power,” explained Harry tiredly.

He had gotten the idea from what little remained of Vaapad. Harry absorbed the opponent's energy with every block and strike, heightening his own and using it to either increase his speed further or for another Force power. The downside was that his body could only channel so much power before it started damaging it so it wasn't a technique to be used for anything less than a last resort.

Keeping and maintaining that speed, not to mention increasing it further, took a toll on the body and mind. Harry had to keep a calm mind in order to keep up with his speed and not go faster than he could track. If he had gotten angry or frustrated, he could have easily moved faster than he wanted and opened a hole in his defense. That was nothing compared to the possible damage he could have inflicted on his body if he had tried to take in more Force energy than he could take in order to increase his speed. Finding his limit and knowing how to stay at that limit for a long time were difficult skills to master.

Luke didn't mention the weaknesses in the form since it was obvious that Harry knew what they were. This was probably the reason he constantly tried to increase his endurance and practiced Force speed so often.

As for Mara, she couldn't help but feel pride when she saw Harry's lightsaber prowess. She could see her influence in the adoption of Trakata; a skill she had taught him. Watching him now, Mara just knew he would go far.

“That is a very dangerous style to go up against,” mused Master Katarn out loud. “And it's still being developed as well.”

“Indeed,” agreed Knight Horn. “If one is not fast enough, he will be overwhelmed before he can counterattack. A very effective style to end a fight quickly and without prolonged fuss.”

'If you think that's something,' thought Numa in amusement. 'You'll be surprised if he uses it with two blades.'

As the one closest to Harry in lightsaber skill, she had faced Harry once, and only once, when he used the style using two blades. It was the most humiliating defeat Numa had ever received from Harry and she promised herself to never face Harry when he had two blades until she was sure she could keep up. She doubted her ego would survive another complete defeat.

Mara was smiling smugly at Harry's detractors that thought he was only good due to having prior training. Not even prior training could explain being able to create and expertly use a new technique in only three months.

“Why didn't you use your shatterpoint ability to end it quickly?” asked Alema when Harry reached her.

“I couldn't,” explained Harry. “Every time I saw a slight crack, he would instantly cover it so I couldn't take advantage. It was like he knew what I was doing and was making sure I couldn't apply it.”

“I wouldn't be surprised if that was true,” mused Numa out loud, looking toward Luke who had left Harry with the Rar twins so he could confer with the Masters. After seemingly reaching an agreement, Luke turned to the audience of students.

“Since the matches are over, you may all return to your rooms or spend your free time practicing if you wish,” said Luke.

Everyone excitedly left (most in the direction of the training grounds) except for Harry's group which now included Tahiri, Klin-Fa, Yabele, Bey and the Solos who were bringing along a red-haired girl their age that he didn't recognize. They excitedly walked up to the pair with Jaina in the lead.

“That was astral!” exclaimed Jaina. “You guys were moving so fast that I couldn't even keep track half the time.”

Harry chuckled at her. “Astral? Spending too much time with Anakin?” he teased.

Jaina blushed slightly and punched him in the shoulder, hard.

“Ow! Careful, I'm still recovering,” said Harry half-jokingly.

“Hmph! Then maybe you should stop talking so you can recover faster?” responded Jaina with a playful glare.

Harry smiled before noticing a red-haired girl he didn't recognize standing next to Jacen who seemed to be explaining something to her. She had red hair similar to his mother's and green eyes darker than his own emerald. She was dressed in strange attire seemingly made of some strange material but apssed it off as belonging to her home planet's culture.

Harry noticed the new girl looking at him and extended his hand in a handshake. “Nice to meet you, I'm Harry Potter. What's your name?”

The girl looked confused at his hand before slowly gripping it and letting him shake her hand. “My name is Tenel Ka Djo. It is a pleasure to meet you, Padawan Potter. Your skill with your blade was quite impressive and I enjoyed watching your match.”

“Speaking of,” said Numa nervously. “What did you guys think of my match?”

“It was awesome, Numa!” exclaimed Jacen, having been introduced to the girl earlier. Beside him, Tahiri quickly nodded her head in agreement and even Klin-Fa looked impressed.

“It was very good, Numa,” said Klin-Fa sincerely. “The way you used Jar'Kai was impressive and the fact it worked against the battlemaster was even more so.”

“She's right, you know,” said Harry in agreement. “Not many can stand up to Master Katarn for any respectable length of time so the fact that you did is commendable.”

“And let's not forget Alema,” continued Harry with a smile at the blushing girl. “She did very well against my mother, especially considering lightsaber dueling isn't your strong point. The fact you held on for as long as you did while being so restricted says a lot about your skill.”

“If I train hard, will I get as good as you?” asked Tahiri innocently of the two older girls.

Alema and Numa both blushed at all the attention and smiled gently down at the girl before the former ruffled her hair fondly. “Of course you will. Who knows? Maybe you'll become stronger than even Harry,” said Alema.

Tahiri looked up at the three older apprentices with admiration in her eyes. It was obvious that in the past three days she had grown attached to them. Harry sometimes stopped to help her understand a difficult concept or even help her with her lightsaber forms. He had become a pseudo-big brother to her. Numa was a sort of sister that she wanted to emulate while Alema was fun and easy to talk to, especially about girl stuff.

“Hey Tenel Ka?” asked Jacen.

“Yes?” responded Tenel Ka, giving Jacen a confused look.

“What's the difference between a Jedi Knight and a Jedi Master?” asked Jacen humorously.

The Solo family groaned while the rest of the group looked confused. It was another of Jacen's awful jokes. He just wouldn't quit and was convinced that his jokes were brilliant.

“I'm not sure. What is it?” said Tenel Ka hesitantly.

“Ask me in twenty years!” exclaimed Jacen before falling into laughter. Only Anakin laughed with him though even his was forced. Tahiri giggled but Harry had the suspicion it wasn't due to the joke.

“Why should I ask you then and not now?” asked Tenel Ka confusedly.

“Because I don't know, Tenel. That's the point of the joke,” explained Jacen slowly.

“Oh, yes. Ha-ha. Very funny,” responded Tenel Ka. It was obvious to everyone that she didn't find it the least bit funny and was still confused.

Harry and Jaina exchanged looks and tried not to burst into laughter. Jacen would never get anyone to laugh at his jokes if he thought that was funny. Seriously, Harry thought even Hutts could give better jokes.

“Padawan Potter, please come here for a moment,” said Knight Horn from behind them.

In their fun they had forgotten that the Masters were right behind them. They all had amused looks on their faces. They had obviously heard the exchange and Jacen's awful joke. Grinning sheepishly, Harry nodded his head at them before turning to his friends.

“We'll meet up with you guys later, okay?” said Harry to the now embarrassed group, trying to give them a reason to skedaddle and not embarrass themselves further.

“Okay, but you better not take forever. I totally want to ask you for training now and we need to get a schedule started.” said Jaina firmly. Harry nodded at her and she and the rest left the chamber with Tahiri asking Jaina questions a mile a minute.

“Now,” said Mara after the rest had left and only Harry was left. “We have come to a decision about further training for you.”

“Usually, we would not place you under a Master until you had completed various missions first,” explained Corran Horn. “But we feel that letting you stagnate when it's obvious that only a Master can help you improve further would be detrimental.”

“Some people would have you stay here with your Masters and improve your skills,” said Kyp Durron. When he mentioned 'some people' he had slightly glared at Corran who glared back. “But I managed to convince them that you would be better served on missions. After all, experience is the best teacher.”

“You won't be sent on missions immediately,” interrupted Luke before Corran could retort. “We'll give a month and half grace period to improve your skills as well as have a transport to take you to your destination.”

“Who will be my Master?” asked Harry excitedly.

Luke smiled at him and answered, “There was a bit of an argument over that. Master Jade wanted you as her apprentice and there was a fight about favoritism but we eventually reached an agreement. Your official Master will be Mara but you will also report for further training from Master Katarn. He doesn't leave the Academy due to his position as battlemaster so he'll train you while you're here while you'll go on missions with Mara.”

Harry smiled widely at his new master, extremely happy with the arrangement. Harry was especially glad he wasn't only under his mother. Knowing her, she would be extra hard on him so she was sure he would survive anything life throws at him. As if sensing his thoughts, Mara looked at Harry and smirked.

“For this month and a half, Master Mara will train you in everything she believes you need to know to survive,” said Luke. “Unfortunately she is the only one of us three available for you full time during these following two months.”

Harry looked up at him in fear. He would almost believe what Luke said if he hadn't seen the glint of humor in his eyes. 'Traitor,' he mouthed toward his father-figure. Luke just smiled wider and looked innocently up at the ceiling.

“Well, my cute little apprentice,” said Mara while smiling wickedly. “We'll see each other a lot over this month and a half so I hope you're ready.”

Harry couldn't help but shiver in fear. He just knew this was going to add to his ever-growing list of possible nightmares.

“By the way,” said Mara suddenly. “Harry, come with me. Your dad and I have a surprise for you.”

Harry nodded and followed after his mother confusedly. They walked to basement hangar area and stopped in front of a ship hidden under a canvas.

“This is your gift from your father and me for all the hard work you've put into your training these last eight months and for successfully building your first lightsaber,” explained Mara. Using the Force, Mara levitated the canvas off the ship and placed it to the side.

At first, Harry thought it was a YT-1300 like the Millennium Falcon. But then he noticed the lack of side cockpit as well as the extra wedge-shaped cargo areas at the rear and knew what it was.

“A YT-1930?!” he asked excitedly. Mara nodded at him with a smile.

The YT-1930 was a newer improvement over Uncle Han's old YT-1300 model. The cockpit was in the center line between the forward wedges. It also had two extra cargo spaces in the rear so it can carry more cargo. It was also classified as a light freighter like the YT-1300 model.

“It has no modifications so you'll have to install those yourself as well as maintain it and everything, understood?” said Mara sternly. “You may be only fourteen but you're classified as a Jedi so we'll go get your piloting license tomorrow. Don't make me and your father regret this, you hear?”

Harry nodded excitedly, at a loss for words. They had given him a ship! He had asked for one for as long as he could remember but he never thought they would actually give him one. Harry gave his mother a big hug and a kiss on the cheek before excitedly running toward his ship.

“Hey, you capricious son of mine, what are you going to call it?” asked Mara.

Harry was on the ramp when he heard her. He stopped and thought about it before finding a perfect name.

“I'm gonna call it the Wayward Son!” he exclaimed happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And there's chapter 5!
> 
> As you can see, I changed and added parts from the original. The most important part was the arrival of the Solos and the slowly burgeoning feelings between Harry and Jaina. Unlike the last version, their relationship was strictly platonic on both their sides before he left. However, as they say “absence makes the heart grow fonder” and feelings are slowly growing between them. It's more realistic and adds a different angle to their relationship.
> 
> As always. Read and Review!


	6. Tragedy at Taris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter 6**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Okay, this chapter is my first complete rewrite from the original and is actually why I'm taking so long in rewriting it all. The original chapter 6 and 7.... well, the idea was good but the execution left a lot to be desired. I guess I was just too excited for my first mission chapter that I got ahead of myself in a lot of things.
> 
> So what I did was combine chapter 6 and 7 of version 1 and, except for the introduction part about the Wayward Son, scrapped it for a whole new mission. That means chapter 7 will also be a totally new chapter instead of a rewrite of the old version so it'll take a while for me to write and publish than if it was simply rewriting an old chapter. Hope you like it!
> 
> AN2: Beta'ed by NIX'S WARDEN

**Jedi Praxeum Hangars, Yavin 4**

Harry was whistling happily while doing check-ups on the Wayward Son. It had been three months since he had been apprenticed to Mara and Kyle and in that time, Harry could safely say that he had learned more than he had on his own in the eight months before. 

With a Master to guide him, Harry had improved tremendously. From Mara, he had learned to hack into secure connections, how to build a weapon from a few loose parts and how to survive in an environment with minimal resources with only the Force. The latter skill was taught by Mara dropping him in the middle of the Tatooine desert during the summer months with only a tracking beacon and with the closest town being 100 miles away. He had to survive the desert's dangers while making his way to the town, something which was much harder than it sounded.

Luke had also taken time to teach Harry how to open himself up to the Force and receive visions from the future and past, something which he got quickly. The problem became interpreting what he saw in an understandable manner. He was making progress but like his mother, he didn't like to rely on farsight that looked too far into the future. The future was constantly in motion and relying on farsight was just asking for trouble. A few seconds into the future was fine but beyond an hour or two was too uncertain to rely on.

Meanwhile, Master Katarn had focused on lightsaber combat training, mostly through spars to force Harry to perfect his style. He also taught Harry more advanced Makashi maneuvers as well as starting to teach Harry Djem So. While the more physically demanding style wasn't Harry's favorite, it was good to know if necessary against a foe who Makashi wouldn't work against. He also made Harry do more exercises to build up his core strength for the style.

Master Katarn had also taught him more controversial abilities of the Force such as Force grip and Force crush, which he picked quite quickly. Mara was not pleased with Harry being taught what she considered dark-side abilities which Harry thought was due to the bad memories she had associated to the power due to Darth Vader. However, she couldn't forbid it with Kyle being his Master as well.

With Kyle as his Master, it helped Harry get to know the man better. He learned that Kyle was a firm believer of the Potentium theory. The theory stated that there was no light and dark side to the Force and that the “dark side” was really just a perversion of the Force, twisted by those who used it. They believed that the Force was inherently good and that any action, good or evil, could be made as long as the intent was not evil. 

While good in theory, Harry couldn't but feel as if it was an excuse for others not to take blame for the consequence of their actions. Harry knew that even good intentions could lead down dark roads. Darth Vader was a perfect example of this. He had turned in order to protect the peace and due to Palpatine's manipulations but ended up losing everything and caused more death and devastation than the Clone Wars themselves. While Harry didn't doubt that there were powers that were technically “neutral”, he knew that there were some powers that were inherently dark. Just thinking of some of the stories of what some Sith could do filled Harry with disgust and fear. Who would be so afraid of dying that they would suck the life out of another in order to extend their life a few more years?

Harry's friends and family had been extremely excited to see Harry's new ship. Though they tried to convince him to change the ship's name, but he held firm to his chosen name. He just felt it fit for some reason.

When Jaina had heard he had his own ship, she almost threw a fit. In compromise, Harry declared Jaina the co-pilot of the ship and if he was ever incapacitated she would be the commander of the ship. Jaina gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek at that declaration. She then went on to help Harry improve “their” ship. 

Harry and Jaina had switched out the one factory medium laser cannon for two AG-2G quad laser cannon much like the Falcon had as well as changing the factory engines for 2 SRB42 sublight engines. They had also traded in the factory hyperdrive system to a military-grade hyperdrive motivator changing the hyperdrive rating from a class 2 hyperdrive for an improved class 0.3 (much like on the Jade Sabre). Both Jaina, Anakin and him had put their heads together to make sure that the hyperdrive didn't have the constant failures that Han's had (Harry loved the man but seriously, how many times does that thing break a week?). Anakin managed to improve the factory MGLT to be able to reach a top speed of 85 on sublight. While not as fast as an X-wing or a TIE fighter, it was still faster than the Falcon. In atmosphere it could reach speeds of 1,100 km/hr.

They had switched the factory plating with duralloy plating which they painted a matte black and upgraded the standard deflector shields to KDY (Kuat Drive Yard) military-grade shields. Mara had helped install a sensor jammer as well as an encryption module. She had also, after much begging, installed a cloaking device. 

On the inside, Harry had expanded the weapons locker and created a secret compartment in the back that could only be opened by a Force-user. Inside that compartment Harry had place at least 6 standard lightsabers of various hilts for an emergency. Mara and Kyle has also taught him other forms of combat from unarmed to how to use various blasters. In that vain, Harry now carried either a DL-44 heavy blaster pistol much like Uncle Han's or a Bryar pistol like Kyle. He also had a military-grade hold-out blaster hidden on his person at all times.

In the weapons locker, Harry had placed 2 extra DL-44 heavy blaster pistols, 2 Power 5 heavy blaster pistols, 2 Bryar pistols, and an E-11 carbine for emergencies (which Mara had personally taught him how to use effectively). In addition to that, Harry made every seat in the cockpit have a Model 6 sporting blaster hidden under the seat for emergencies.

Mara and Han had helped install an Ax-108 “Ground Buzzer” surface-defense blaster cannon as well as a pair of Arakyd ST2 concussion missile tubes (4 missiles each). Most of the ship's modifications had come from either Lando or KDY so they promised to not break down like Han's did so often in the past.

They had also placed various outfits of all sizes in the storage lockers for any occasion because as a Jedi you never know where you might be sent. Harry's ship only had three cabins so the captain's was his, one was for Jaina while the last was for any guest that might be on the ship. He apologized to the others for not having more space for them but they just waved it off saying it was fine.

The whole series of modifications had taken the entire three months and a lot of the credits Harry had saved up (as well as a few not so legal supply runs for the Hutts) but Harry considered it well worth it. The Wayward Son was a construction of love and friendship that his group had built from the ground up. Even Tenel Ka had helped in its modifications though she was forbidden from piloting. 

Harry would never forget how Tenel Ka managed to crash her ship into the only rock in the Tatooine desert during simulations. After a horrible mental image of that being his ship, he told her that although she was his friend she was only allowed to pilot if everyone else was dead (even Tahiri). The group had almost busted a gut in laughter at that.

All in all, Harry considered the ship his “baby” much like Han considered the Falcon his. For this reason, whenever Harry was ordered to have time off and not train (something which Mara insisted on), he would spend it touching up the Son either alone or with Jaina. The time they spent working on the Son helped the two friends reconnect after so much time spent apart and it was like no time had passed.

Today he and Jaina were working on the ship once more, making sure that all the modifications were properly installed and everything. They had noticed a slight lag in between activated the surface-defense blaster cannon and it responding. Jacen and the group were off doing lightsaber training while Alema and Numa were on a mission with their Master. Klin-Fa, Bey and Yabele were off somewhere training since they had been given the green light to build their own lightsabers as well. Harry had been happy to give them his notes on everything lightsaber related such as crystal and mechanics which they had been very grateful for.

As always when they were working on the ship, Harry and Jaina worked in sync though not without disagreements.

“I'm telling you that it's the power couplings!” yelled out Harry from beneath the Son. “They aren't transferring the power to the cannon quick enough to activate it instantly. We need to switch them out!”

“And I'm telling you that you're wrong!” came Jaina's rebuttal from the roof of the Son. “We just switched out those power couplings two weeks ago and they're fine! The Falcon uses the same amount of power our ship does and the couplings work fine for it. It has to be the ion drives! They're not properly installed yet or something!”

“And I told you,” retorted Harry. “That I installed the ion drives perfectly not three weeks ago so it can't be that.” Harry paused for a moment in thought. “What if it's neither?”

Jaina paused from her third inspection of the ion drive's power core. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, we've been thinking it's not getting enough power and that's why it lags, right?” explained Harry out loud. “But what if it's not the power but the cannon itself that's damaged? Did you check it's internal mechanics to see if it was all square? We did get it from the Hutts after all.”

Jaina frowned as she closed the panel she had opened to check the power core and walked across the roof of the Son. “No, I didn't. I didn't think to check it since all the other stuff we got from the Hutts checked out. Why would they give us a faulty defense cannon but not anything else?”

Harry snorted as he crawled out from under the Son. “Cause they're cheap and crooked. Let's check it out.”

Ten minutes later, the two teens were frowning as they looked over the disconnected defense turret.

“Those slimy, backstabbing assholes!” yelled Jaina angrily. “This piece of shit must be a decade old! We need to change out the cables that receive the power from the ship and changes it to plasma bolts. Sithspit!”

Harry sighed as he scratched his forehead. “This sucks. But well, we wanted to add a separate power generator for it like the Falcon so we can do that once we finish fixing this hunk a junk.”

Jaina sighed and nodded before looking up at Harry and fighting back a smile. She failed and bit her lip to keep from giggling.

Harry noticed and frowned at Jaina. “What are you laughing about?”

“You have a little grease...” Jaina pointed at her forehead to indicate where the grease was located.

Harry's eyebrows furrowed and tried to rub it out, only to cause Jaina to start laughing since he'd only made it worse since the hand he used was full of grease too. Harry scowled at the laughing Jaina before smiling mischievously. “Jaina, you have grease on you too.”

Jaina frowned and looked at her body in confusion. “Where?” Jaina looked up in time to see Harry swipe his grease filled hand on the left side of her face, hair and all.

“Right there,” said Harry impishly as he started to back up away from Jaina.

Jaina glared at the smugly smiling bastard who got her dirty. While she didn't mind getting dirty, this couldn't go unanswered.

The next few minutes involved Harry running away from Jaina as the latter chased him with an oil spray. Neither knew the point of the game beyond getting each other as dirty as possible and just having fun.

Eventually, Harry turned around quickly, surprising Jaina long enough to grab her in a tight hug, forcing her to drop the oil can she had in her hand.

“Let me go, you neanderthal!” yelled out Jaina playfully. Jaina squealed when Harry rubbed his grease covered form against her own, ensuring she was nice and dirty.

“If I'm a neanderthal, what does that make you, you dirty girl?” asked Harry playfully.

Jaina stuck her tongue out at him, causing him to laugh and hug her tighter. Jaina half-heartedly tried to escape his grip only to give up and glare up at him, which caused Harry to chuckle. Jaina couldn't keep her glare up for long and eventually smiled up at her closest friend.

Jaina smiled up at Harry and felt her heart start to go faster for some reason. At first, she passed it off as adrenaline but that didn't explain why she couldn't look away from Harry's eyes and why she was suddenly aware of the feel of his hard body against her own softer one.

Jaina wasn't the only one affected by their proximity. Harry felt himself gulp at the feel of Jaina's body against his, the proof of her femininity obvious at this distance, not to mention that beautiful derriere which he could see even from his current angle.

However, it was her eyes that had him captivated. He never really noticed but her eyes were close to the color of chocolate and were currently looking at him with a strange emotion in their depths. He had never thought brown was an attractive color but Jaina's chocolate eyes suddenly became his new favorite color.

“Hey, is anybody here?”

Harry and Jaina jumped and hastily separated as the voice of one Han Solo echoed through the hangar. They looked around and noticed that they were currently hidden behind the Son, which explained why Han hadn't seen them. Jaina blushed deeply and ran into the ship, as if escaping something.

Blushing for some reason, Harry eventually regained his composure and responded. “Hey, Uncle Han. We're back here!”

Eventually, the familiar form of Han Solo appeared around the corner with a large smile on his face. Han hadn't changed much since Harry started to live with the Solos. A few more gray hairs here and there but all in all he was still the rebel smuggler that Harry loved and admired. 

The two exchanged a manly hug and Han smiled down at his pseudo nephew. “So, how you doing kiddo? I see you're following in my footsteps in some areas,” he said pointing at Wayward Son. “Not as good as my own Falcon but your ship ain't bad.”

“Our ship is gonna be ten times better than yours, Dad,” said the returned Jaina. She walked over and hugged her father hello while carefully avoided Harry's eyes. “We already installed non-factory modifications to it and soon it'll be a hundred times better than your ship.”

“Dream on, kiddo,” joked Han with a smile. He looked from Harry to Jaina with a perplexed smile. “So you two decided to co-own the Son?” At their nod, he smiled mischievously. “So when's the wedding? After all, sharing a ship with a woman is more binding than even marriage vows.”

Harry and Jaina blushed deeply at Han's words causing Han to laugh. Jaina sputtered impotently at her father. “Dad! It's not like that! We're just friends!”

For some reason, Harry couldn't help but feel depressed at that but quickly shook it off. It was true, after all. It wasn't like there was anything else between them.

Was there?

Han just shook his head while looking at the two. Han had always tried to keep most people at a distance as a result of his smuggler life. In that life, people tended to die a lot so some distance was a given. That changed when he married Leia and they had the twins as well as Anakin. He had people that he considered close and couldn't keep at a distance. By the time Harry had come along, it was easy for Harry to worm his way into his heart. Han considered Harry his nephew in all but blood and one of the few people he could trust not only implicitly but also trusted him with his family's safety. Anyone who knew Han knew that that was a rare honor. 

It was for that reason that he didn't actually mind the idea of Harry and Jaina getting together. Goodness knows that those two had been practically joined at the hip since they met and according to his wife, shared a Force bond almost as strong as Jacen and Jaina's twin bond. Even as blind as he was, he could see that something was growing between the two even now. Whether or not anything would come it though remained a mystery.

“Whatever you say, kiddo,” said Han with a smile. He turned to Harry, ignoring his daughter's glare with practiced ease. “So I hear you've been learning to wield a DL-44 like me.”

Harry nodded in confirmation. “Yeah as well as lot of other weapons in case I ever lose my lightsaber. I'll probably ask you for any pointers on my quick draw when I have time.”

“Glad to hear I was such a good influence though I hear you still suck at sabacc,” said Han jokingly, laughing when Harry scowled and even Jaina fought back a smile.

It was true. Despite Harry's prodigious skills with the Force telepathy and empathy, he still managed to lose at sabacc even when he thought he had a game-winning hand. I mean seriously, he loses even when he has a +23! By the Force, how often does someone get an Idiot's Array!? Little did Harry know that the twins had learned to block his telepathy and regularly cheated.

“Don't remind me, Uncle Han,” groaned Harry. “Seriously, how do my opponents always manage to get an Idiot's Array when I have pure sabacc?!”

Han grinned at the familiar exclamation while Jaina tried to hide her laughter. Han was the one who introduced the game to Harry (and by extension to his children). He still found it hilarious that a future Jedi Knight with all their mystical powers could suck so bad at the game. 

“Not that I'm not happy to see you but what are you doing here? Is Aunt Leia here too?” asked Harry.

“Sorry, kiddo. Leia couldn't make it. Politics has got her so she can barely visit,” said Han apologetically at both Jaina and Harry. While Han understood his wife's duties, he still found it annoying that she so often missed chances to spend with the family. It was no wonder Harry considered Mara more his mother than Leia. Even Jaina's relationship with Leia was strained and it was shown in the way Jaina's expression didn't change, showing she had expected as much.

But Harry just waved it off and said, “No problem, I understand. I don't envy her. I hate politicians cause most are as slippery as a greased Dug. If it was up to me I'd probably end up shooting half of them.”

“You and me both kid,” agreed Han, remembering some of the more memorable politicians he would like to do that too. And only half of them were Imperials.

“By the way,” Han looked at Harry in amusement. “You might want to get showered and changed. Your mom told me you have a mission and you'll be leaving soon.”

Harry's eyes widened in alarm and looked around while grabbing his hair in despair. “Dammit! I'll never get this all picked up in time!”

Han looked at Jaina and the two shared a nod. “You go on ahead. Me and Jaina will get this fixed up while you change.”

Harry blinked. “Really? Thanks a lot!”

Han and Jaina watched Harry run out of the hangar with a amused smiles on their faces. Once he left, Han turned to his daughter. “So mind telling me what you two were doing back here? Don't think I don't know you ran into the ship when I called out.”

Jaina just blushed and ran back into the ship.

* * *

After a quick shower to get the grease out, Harry got dressed and walked back into the hangar where Mara was waiting. As he approached, Harry could hear Mara and Uncle Han arguing... again.

“I'm telling you flyboy,” Mara was saying with a hint of annoyance. “It's better to have a full-on back-up generator that's connected to the defense turret instead of just a small one. That way of the main power core fails, he can switch over to the back-up long enough to reach somewhere to get repairs.”

“And where are you going to put it?” retorted Han. “He'd have to get rid of one of his modifications and we agreed they were all necessary. Maybe if he got rid of the cloaking though....”

“Hell no,” said Harry and Jaina at the same time. The two shared a grin before turning back to the adults. “We need that for spy- I mean, observation missions.”

“But I guess we could connect the cloaking to the back-up generator too,” said Harry thoughtfully. “It would remove some of the stress from the main generator and since we won't use it much, it won't waste the back-up generator. We can remove the cloaking field's power generator and turn it into a back-up generator for both the cloaking field and the defense turret.”

Mara and Han looked thoughtful before both nodded. “Yeah, that could work,” said Mara slowly. “We'll install it when we get back. But for now we have a mission. We're headed for Taris so be prepared. For now, say your goodbyes.”

Harry nodded and turned to Han who had a serious look on his face. “Be careful kid and keep a hand on your blaster at all times. You never know when things will get a little dicey.”

Harry smiled at that and after saying his goodbyes to his uncle, turned to Jaina. Harry was instantly reminded of what happened earlier and so was Jaina, making the two look at each other awkwardly.

Eventually, Jaina couldn't take it anymore and half-heartedly punched his shoulder. “You better bring my ship back in one piece or you'll answer to me.”

Harry smiled at Jaina's indirect way of telling him to be careful and mock scowled. “Don't you mean my ship? I just made you co-pilot not co-owner.”

Jaina just waved him with an amused smile on her face. “Whatever helps you sleep at night,” she said airily. She turned serious and looked him in the eye with emotion shimmering in its depths. “Be careful. May the Force be with you.”

Harry smiled and felt his heart warm. “I will. May the Force be with you, Jay-jay.”

Harry laughed at the mock scowl on her face from the childish nickname before following after his mother.

“The mission is in Taris, specifically the Undercity” explained Mara as they entered the cockpit, reluctantly letting Harry take the pilot's seat while she took the co-pilot's. “There have been rumors of people going missing and people are terrified it might mean a rakghoul survived the intervening centuries and are now coming out of hibernation. I doubt it but it's a possibility.”

“If it is rakghouls, what do we do?” asked Harry hesitantly as he fired up the engines and asked for clearance to leave. While sure in his lightsaber skills, all it took was a single bite or scratch to be infected and turned. He would prefer not to be turned into a rakghoul, thank you very much.

“In that case” said Mara lowly as they received clearance to leave and started to ascend into the atmosphere. “We are to assess the threat level and if we can take care of it, we are do so. Stay close to me at all times, Harry. If these are rakghouls then we have to be careful. They tend to swarm. If it looks like we're about to be overrun, we bug out. Understood?”

Harry nodded his understanding and piloted the ship out of the atmosphere before entering hyperspace toward Taris.

* * *

**About ¾ of the way to Taris**

The first time Harry had piloted the Wayward Son, he had been excited about its maiden voyage. However, after a while he had discovered something about traveling between planets.

“Hyperspace is boring,” complained Harry as he sat back in his pilot's seat.

In the co-pilot's seat, Mara smiled with her eyes closed as she meditated. “Yes, it is. But we need to be on hand in case something happens so we can't leave the cockpit. Why don't you meditate to pass the time?”

Sighing to himself, Harry sat back to do as he was told. Meditating was a form of training as well, helping him open his connection to the Force more quickly in battle and helping him better understand the abilities he already has.

As Harry was meditating, he sent out his senses to try to sense what the mission would bring. At first, nothing happened. However, he felt the currents of the Force part slightly, allowing him a slight vision of the future but it was impossible to decipher. A crimson-haired woman with bright blue eyes. Creatures of the dark side attacking people. And in the background, Harry heard someone chuckling. Harry eventually broke himself out of his trance and started taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart.

“Are you okay?” asked a concerned Mara. She had come out of her own meditation when she felt his distress and was now looking at her son in concern. “You look pale.”

“I just had a vision through the Force,” explained Harry. “But it's fragmented. I can't make sense of it.”

“What did you see?” asked a still concerned yet now serious Mara. While she didn't put much stock in Jedi farsight, she knew better to ignore a vision like the one Harry had received. Every bit of information helped.

“A crimson-haired woman, creatures filled with the dark side attacking, and someone chuckling in the background,” explained Harry as he tried to remember anything more from his vision but got nothing.

“Did the woman seem hostile through the Force?” asked Mara with a calculating glint at the possibility of a potential enemy awaiting them or even the source of the disappearances themselves.

“No,” said Harry slowly. “If anything, she seemed...sad. Lonely.”

“Maybe she was one of the people who disappeared and you sensed where she was being kept?” suggested Mara thoughtfully. “She could be being kept alive for some reason though I can't think of any. Those creatures of the dark side you're talking about disturb me and if they're rakghouls we'll have a hard fight on our hands.”

“Maybe,” conceded Harry. 

“Still,” said Mara slowly as she got up off the co-pilot's seat. “We better prepare for the worst. Let's suit up and take anything you think you might need.” 

Harry nodded and walked toward the weapons locker. There, he switched his DL-44 blaster pistol for one of the Bryar pistols and after checking that he had a full power pack and that he had extra power packs on the back of his belt, he slipped it on his left holster. Checking that his lightsaber was in its holster on his right hip, he put on his Jedi robes and made sure it concealed the presence of the pistol. 

Despite it had been three months since making his first lightsaber, he still hadn't found a way to make a curved-hilt lightsaber. Between training, missions and modifying the Wayward Son, he hadn't much time to tinker with making one. The few times he tried to make one, the hilt almost blew up in his hand when he turned it on. Luckily, he hadn't used his crystals for any of these hilts and had only used some of the extra crystals for making more training sabers that were lying around. His failure to make his favored curved-hilt lightsabers frustrated him but he told himself he'd focus on that now that the modifications on the Son were done.

Banishing those thoughts, Harry walked towards the cockpit and sat in pilot's seat to await Mara as she got ready. Hearing the door behind him open, Harry turned around and saw his mother dressed in a black ensemble that was made up of a black sleeveless shirt and pants with a holster holding a blaster and her lightsaber.

Seeing her like that made Harry uncomfortable since the ensemble emphasized curves Harry would prefer stayed covered. Force damn it, she was his mother! Shouldn't she, I dunno, uglify herself once she became a mother.

Harry finally understood what Jacen and Anakin felt and a well of sympathetic understanding for them rose inside of him. If they had to put up with men looking at their mother like the men at Taris would no doubt look at his, he was surprised at their self-control. If one man so much as wolf-whistled at his mother, he would cut something off the man in question.

Thankfully, Mara put on a standard Jedi cloak to cover her, though it was probably meant to cover her weapons. Still, Harry wouldn't complain. Less chance of accidentally maiming someone on Taris.

“How long till we get there?” asked Mara as she sat back down.

“We're dropping out of hyperspace in 3, 2, 1, now,” said Harry. Sure enough, as he finished counting down, the ship dropped out of hyperspace in front of the ravaged world of Taris.

Even millennia after the fact, the world still hadn't recovered from the Sith bombardment of Darth Malak during the Jedi Civil War. The scars of the bombardment were still visible on the planet's red surface even though the planet-wide city had been rebuilt. It was a reminder that some scars ran too deep to ever disappear.

“We're here. So what's the game plan, Master?” asked Harry, suddenly all business. They would be entering a possibly rakghoul-infested Undercity so they had to have a plan set before they started.

Mara furrowed her eyebrows in thought before nodding. “When we arrive and after we let the higher-ups know we're here, we'll ask around for any rumors about the Undercity to see whether these “disappearance” are actually disappearances or attacks. Once we know either way, we'll make our way tot he Undercity and search for clues into the disappearances. We don't split up at any point understand? If it turns out to be rakghouls, we'll need to work together to survive much less destroy them all.”

Harry nodded and piloted the ship toward the planet. As they reached the planet, they gave their identification codes to the Taris traffic control as well as their reason for being there. After verifying their codes, traffic control gave them directions to their landing pad near the capital section. As they reached the city, Harry was slightly reminded of Coruscant with its high-rise buildings. Much like the city-planet, the under levels were a hive of corruption and crime with those on the upper levels too lazy or uncaring to do anything about it.

Once he found the correct landing pad, Harry expertly landed the ship. “Well, here goes nothing,” muttered Harry to himself as Mara and him made their way down the ramp. 

As Harry turned on the security module of the ship and walked down the ramp behind his mother, he noticed that there were people there waiting for him. The first and most noticeable was a light-skinned blond woman that seemed to have an important air around her. This must be Tash Rodan, the senator of Taris, he mused. Around her were several guards as well as what must be her council. 

“Welcome to Abrion Major, Master Jedi,” said Tash bowing to Mara. “I trust your trip was uneventful.”

“Quite so but thank you for asking,” responded Mara in a casual tone. “This is my Padawan, Harry Potter.”

Tash turned to him with a calculating look in her eye. “A pleasure to meet you, Padawan Potter. I imagine you are quite skilled to be taken as the apprentice of Mara Jade Skywalker. I look forward to following your career in the future.”

For the first time Harry was glad for the political training Leia had pounded into his head. He hated it but he had to admit it was useful. Therefore, he nodded his head and smiled politely. “Milady is too kind. The pleasure is all mine.”

As Mara and the senator exchanged pleasantries, Harry stretched out with his Force senses for any danger in the area. Other than some hostility from the guards, there was no sign of dange but kep himself on alert just in case.

“Tell me senator, when was the first kidnapping?” asked Mara, getting straight to business.

Harry felt a spike of nervousness coming from the senator through the Force and wondered why that was. Could she have a hand in the kidnappings or was she simply nervous for some other reason relating to the kidnappings?

“The first kidnapping was about 5 months ago. We called you as soon as we realized our planetary police could not deal with it,” explained Senator Rodan. 

Harry could sense the blatant lie. It seemed as if they called them because they were forced to, not because they wanted to. 'Probably someone they couldn't silence found out,' he mused. 

Mara seemed to think the same thing as she eyed the Senator. “Can you take me to the sight of the first kidnapping?” asked Mara in a casual tone.

Another spike of nervousness tinged with fear. 

“Of course, Master Jedi. This way,” said Senator Rodan. 

Mara and Harry followed.

* * *

**Taris Undercity entrance, the next day, 22 ABY**

Harry was waiting for his mother in front of the entrance to the Undercity. Said entrance had supposedly been blocked when the disappearances started but Harry's keen eye saw that it had been much more recently. Probably within the last week which was exactly when they first got the request actually.

Interesting.  
Of course, both Harry and Mara had been followed by various spy drones and trackers but Harry had been raised by a former spy and been taught the tricks. He easily found all of them and disposed of them easily.

Their searching for rumors had led to more questions than answers. Some people said that the kidnapped people had been attacked in the Middle City while other said the disappearances had all been in the Undercity. There had been conflicting reports of some of the kidnapped turning up dead while others simply disappeared without a trace. Still others were rumored to have returned as the walking dead wandering the streets of the Undercity.

The site of the first kidnapping in the Lower City hadn't had any clues. But then again neither Mara nor Harry expected it to; it had been five months after all. The kidnapper was also very good at covering his/her tracks. Harry had used the Force to get a sense of what happened but only received a vague feeling of fear and hopelessness as well as strong feeling of betrayal. Both he and his mother concluded that the first person kidnapped had known his kidnapper meaning this could be an inside job.

Harry had spent the day going to the first ten kidnapping sites as well the last ten and tried to receive impressions from the Force while Mara hit the bars for information. The first ten were similar to the first and he only got more feelings of betrayal and hopelessness. Harry guessed that much like himself when he was young, the children came from bad backgrounds and while they felt betrayed by what happened, had also been resigned to their fate.

However, the strange thing was that all the kidnappings in the Lower City had been of children. In fact, eighty of the hundred kidnappings were of children, and most were orphans due to plague or gang killings. All had also been kidnapped exclusively in the Lower City. However, the other twenty were adults and all had been exclusively in the Undercity. To add to the mystery was the fact that all twenty adults were suspected of being killers and rapists on the run from New Republic police.

The conflicting reports and the strangeness of the disappearances made it impossible to guess whether it was all done by a single source or different though both Harry and his mother were leaning toward it being the latter. They hypothesized that the children were done by one group and the adults by another. It could be that the latter group chased off the former since the only disappearances lately had been of adults. The only way to be sure of what it was was by going to the disappearance sites in the Undercity. For that reason, both he and Mara were meeting up to explore the Undercity and the disappearance sites.

Suddenly, Harry heard behind him and instantly turned around with a hand on his lightsaber and his Bryar pistol pointed in the direction of the noise. Standing behind him was none other than his mother, Mara Jade Skywalker.

“Force blast it, Mom,” exclaimed Harry was he holstered his pistol. “You scared the shit out of me.”

Mara just chuckled. “Nice reflexes there though we'll need to train your sense more. I had actually been standing behind you for over a minute.

Harry winced at that. A minute was way more than necessary to kill a person. It looks like he had gotten too complacent and needed to train his senses to be sharper. 

“You find anything?” asked Harry as his mother walked up to him.

Mara nodded absently as she studied the boarded up entrance. “Yes, apparently there's someone who has been arriving and leaving the planet. Supposedly, they're helping smuggle spice.”

“But?” asked Harry, knowing there was more to it. She wouldn't have mentioned it if there wasn't.

“But I checked the log registry and every time that ship has landed has coincided with at least 5 disappearances,” explained Mara grimly. “The adult disappearances.”

In other words, the ones where the people swear they've seen the adults returned as walking dead. Wonderful. “You think they're that sloppy?” asked Harry dubiously.

“I think that they've done it so many times that they've let down their guard,” said Mara. “It happens even to the best of us.”

Harry mulled it over. It could be possible. After all, the very fact that every time they landed, someone disappeared was suspicious. Though he noticed his mother said it only coincided with five disappearances. Did that mean they entered through alternative means the other times or that they didn't have anything to with those times?

“Okay, are they here now?” asked Harry.

Mara smiled ferally and nodded. “They've actually just arrived an hour ago. I saw them land in an old XS stock light freighter.”

Harry looked at her in surprise. “Are you sure? Those ships are ancient. I'm surprised one still exists in working condition.”

“Me too but I recognized it from history lessons at the Imperial Academy,” confirmed Mara, equally surprised. “They must be a good mechanic if they can keep one of those running in this day and age. The replacement parts have long been stopped being in circulation.”

“Still, them being here now means they'll be in the Undercity,” said Harry thoughtfully. “No one's passed by me since I've been here but then again, I've only been here for ten minutes so they could have entered before I got here.”

“That's what I'm thinking,” said Mara. “Okay, Harry, lightsabers on hand and your pistol ready to draw. I get the feeling that this is going to be ugly.”

* * *

**Taris Undercity, 22 ABY**

Harry and Mara were silent as they walked through the empty streets of the Undercity. Despite it not being sunset yet, all the windows and doors were closed. This showed just how much the fear of the disappearances was taking hold lately.

They had already visited four disappearance sights and found no evidence of struggle. In fact, it was like the people simply disappeared into thin air. Of course, that wasn't possible which meant they had either followed their kidnapper willingly or been persuaded to through the Force. Mara had found very faint impressions of the latter in two of them so it could be that the kidnapper was a dark-side Force user of some kind.

The problem, of course, was that there had been no such impressions in any of the disappearance sights in the Lower City. Whether it was because they were so old that they had faded or because it had been by a different person, they didn't know. They hoped it was the former though with their luck it would be the latter.

Harry watched as an eye peeked out from behind a blind before closing firmly. “So far, we've noticed that all the 'disappearances' don't look like disappearances. In fact, I'd say the person just walked off somewhere and never came back if it wasn't for the Force impressions on two of them. But even then, that's only two out of more than sixty. Not very compelling evidence pointing to a Force-user.”

“True,” said Mara absently as she looked around with furrowed eyebrows. “But it could be that the person-” Both Harry and Mara's head snapped to a direction off the main street. “Did you feel that?”

Harry nodded seriously as they ran in the direction they felt it come from, making sure to stay silent the entire way so as to not alert their target. “Oh yeah. That was definitely the Force.... though it didn't feel particularly dark. Not light by any means but certainly not dark. Sorta.. gray, I think.”

Mara nodded with a frown as they slowed down as they approached the target area. “Yeah, though that could be them masking it though I doubt it. It could simply be that the person hasn't fallen completely to the dark side. If it's the latter then we might be able to redeem them or at least end this without a fight. But if it's the former....”

“This could get tricky,” finished Harry grimly. After all, the ability to hide your Force alignment was a very advanced one so whoever it was would be extremely dangerous.

The two Jedi jumped onto the roofs as they reached the target zone and quietly approached while suppressing their Force signature as much as possible.

They were looking at a small alley which was empty except for two people. One was normal-looking man of average height, weight and build with nothing really remarkable about him. The second was much more memorable.

The other was a woman who looked to be in her 20s but had an air of being much older. She had long silky crimson hair the color of blood and was lightly tanned. Even from their distance, Harry could see that she was quite beautiful with high C to low D-cup breasts barely held back in a black corset, long legs hidden in skin-tight black pants and thigh-high black high-heeled boots. Any man would be entranced at first sight and Harry was no exception.

However, through the Force, Harry and Mara could see that the man following behind her was entranced through more than just normal male hormones. The Force was at work and it was probably the reason the man was following behind her like zombie.

This was obviously the culprit behind at least two of the disappearances so with shared nod, both Harry and Mara Force-leapt in front of the woman, lightsabers ignited.

“Excuse me but we'd like to ask you some questions about the disappearances around here lately,” said Mara lightly, though the ignited lightsaber in her hand made that seem much more threatening than it was.

The woman chuckled and looked up at them, revealing startling blue eyes with black sclera. “I was wondering when you Jedi would get wise to the happenings around here. You Jedi are slower than I remember though.” She looked from Mara to Harry before her eyes widened fractionally. “Interesting.”

Mara narrowed her eyes at the woman, feeling something about her gaze at her son that set off her maternal instincts. “Something you want to share with the class?”

The woman smiled mysteriously and continued to look at Harry. “I just never expected the son of James Potter to become a Jedi. What with his people's history with the Jedi I'd thought he'd be against it.”

Harry's heart skipped a beat and he held himself back from reacting outwardly. “James? Is that my father's name? And how do you know I'm his son?”

The woman's eyes narrowed at that. “You don't know your father's name? Unless he ran out on your mother, which I doubt, that must mean he's dead.” A trace of sorrow crossed her face before she banished it. “As for how I know..” she smiled that mysterious smile. “Your Force signature is similar to his and your mother's to those who know how to sense it. No, there's no doubt that you are the son of James Potter and Lily Evans.”

Harry loved his adoptive parents. Despite their various duties, both Luke and Mara had been there when he needed them and he had never doubted he was loved. However, hearing this woman talking about his birth parents as if she knew them personally and detecting no lie from her, he could hardly stop the longing from consuming him. He'd always wondered about his birth parents and whether they loved him and died or had abandoned him. No matter how much he believed it was the former, he secretly feared it was the latter. Hearing about them from someone who knew them, here of all places, was surreal to him.

Mara felt the conflicting emotions in her son and couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. While she knew she had parents and she vaguely remembered that they had loved her, she never discovered their names or even if they were still alive. Heck, she didn't even know if 'Mara Jade' was her birth name or the name the Emperor had given her. In all the ways that mattered, she was an orphan as well and while she had built a new family now, she always secretly wondered about her birth parents and what happened to them. 

For that reason, she could understand her son's feelings and slightly lowered her lightsaber's aggressive stance. “We don't want any trouble, we just have a few questions and we think you might be able to answer them.”

The woman seemed to come back to herself and smiled once more. “Yes, I think I can. Oh, you can go now.” The last part was said to her hypnotized follower who shook his head as if coming out of a trance. He looked from the two Jedi with lit lightsaber to the woman who smiled mockingly at him and quickly decided he had someplace else he had to be.

The three watched him run off before the two Jedi focused on the woman, now more relaxed but still wary. Even at this distance they had a hard time sensing her beyond the vague sense they got from any other non-Force sensitive being. The fact that she could actually command the Force to the degree she could yet remain near invisible to their senses spoke volumes of her skill and power so they stayed on guard.

The woman smiled and crossed her arms across her chest as she regarded Harry once more. “You look just like your father, you know? Except your eyes. You have your mother's eyes.” The last part was said in a slightly wistful tone.

Mara, however much she wanted to indulge her son's desire for knowledge on his parents, was focused on the task on hand. “As interesting as that is, we need to know everything you know about the disappearances around here.” Something about this woman put her on edge and it was more than just the way she kept staring at Harry unblinkingly.

The woman smiled and leaned up against a nearby wall with her arms crossed. “Well, it depends on what you're talking about. If you're talking about the children then I'm afraid they're beyond your help at the moment. But if it's about the adults, then I'm afraid to tell you that they're all dead. Good riddance.”

Mara and Harry stiffened at the latter declaration and slightly rose their lightsabers a bit. “Good riddance?” asked Mara in a faux light tone. “You wouldn't have had anything to do with that, would you?”

The woman laughed, as if they'd said a funny joke. “Oh, no. I have higher standards than dirtying my hands with trash like that.”

Mara's eyebrows furrowed as she could only sense truth from her. “Then why did we sense your Force signature around two of the disappearance sights?”

“Because I caused them to disappear from those places,” said the woman lightly, causing the two Jedi to stiffen and ready themselves. “But I didn't kill them. I simply led them around a bit before letting them go.”

“So these people you hypnotized and made follow you around just happened to die the same day?” asked Harry disbelievingly. “That's a little coincidental, isn't it?”

“It wasn't coincidence at all,” said the woman easily. “I specifically chose them because I knew they were going to die that day. I hypnotized them so my Force signature would be left at the disappearance sight so when you Jedi appeared, it would lead straight to me as your only lead.”

Mara contemplated her story and had to admit it was plausible. It was obvious that this woman could hide her Force presence easily so if she wanted, she could have left no traces behind her. If she purposely left traces for them to find in order to lead them to her, however, it became more believable. Still....

“Why didn't you just contact the Jedi yourself with your information?” asked Mara suspiciously. “Why go through all this trouble just to get a face to face?”

The woman's smile, which had been on her face all this time, dropped. “I have bad history with you Jedi and so prefer to avoid as much contact with you as possible. However, I ran across this information during my investigation into... another matter and knew I couldn't let it go. However, I wasn't about to make my presence known to the Jedi Order at large so I decided on this roundabout way. I compelled one of the men who is now dead to contact you Jedi with the disappearances before he died, bringing you here and just waited. That way only you two know of my existence and even if you report my existence, only you two have ever seen me.”

Harry thought it was a lot of trouble just to maintain anonymity but knew there were others who had done much more to stay hidden. For now, it was important to hear what she had to say. “So what's this info that you went to so much trouble to tell us?”

The woman smiled once more and started to walk away. “It'd be easier to show you than tell you and you're in luck. There's another meeting tonight. Follow me... if you can.” The woman suddenly Force-jumped onto a roof and ran off, Harry and Mara hot on her heels.

The two Jedi followed their lead through the maze of the Undercity, sometimes losing visual sight of her for a second but never truly losing her. This was due to being able to follow her through the Force. It was clear that she was purposely leaving behind traces of her passage for them to follow and if she truly wanted, she could erase all signs of her having been there. It only made them more wary and on edge around the mysterious woman who they just realized they didn't even know the name of.

The little chase continued for a while until eventually the two Jedi landed on a rooftop where the woman was waiting. The roof had a glass skylight at the top and was one of the rare ones that was open to the sky instead of the bottom of the Lower City. Harry looked around and only just noticed how truly far away they were from the more populated sections of the Undercity. This was the part of the Undercity that survived the bombardment of Taris during the Jedi Civil War and still stood to this day.

Due to the various ghost stories that had no doubt popped up about these surviving buildings, it was little wonder they were still abandoned. He bet that even the men meant to rebuild the Undercity had avoided this area beyond a superficial survey to make sure it was still sturdy. It was because of area like this that rumors of surviving rakghouls persisted and even Harry had to admit that, looking around at the dark aura around the place, it was very possible.

Mara warily watched the still smiling mysterious woman and was about to speak when the woman put a finger to her lips to indicate silence. She crouched near the edge of the glass skylight and gestured them to come closer while maintaining silence.

Still suspicious but willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, the two Jedi quietly walked forward and crouched on the opposite end of the skylight as the woman and looked down through it.

At first, they didn't see anything except an empty conference room of some kind and were about to angrily ask the woman what they were supposed to be watching. Then the door of the room slammed open and none other than Senator Rodan walked into the room with an angry look on her face followed by what looked like two of her aides, one male and the other female.

“What are we going to do about this Aida?” asked Senator Rodan angrily to the female aide. “Those damn Jedi are here and sticking their noses where it doesn't belong and there's a chance they'll figure out we sanctioned the kidnappings of those brats in the Lower City!”

At that, Mara and Harry's eyes widened in surprise at her words. The two Jedi exchanged a look before looking back down at the meeting below them with narrowed eyes and renewed interest.

The lady called Aida looked calm, however. “Not likely, my Lady. We've taken steps to make everyone except for us three 'disappear' as well as cleared the kidnapping sights of all evidence. The children were also all orphans so no one cares that they've disappeared. As long as we take care of the last loose end, we're in the clear.”

The senator seemed to calm down at that and turned to the male aide. “Zak, how goes tracking down the last witness? You said you'd managed to track him down earlier but lost him at one point.”

“Yes, ma'am,” said Zak with a nervous sheen of sweat on his face. “He disappeared much like two previous ones did before but we're sure he'll reappear much like the other two did. Then he'll be dead and there will be no more loose ends and nothing linking us to the disappearances. Especially since we've made sure the bodies are never found.”

At that, Senator Rodan smirked and leaned back in her chair with a satisfied air. “Yes, my little pets do tend to leave little behind when they eat. How goes their reconditioning anyway?”

Aida stepped forward and looked at a datapad in her hand as she recited her findings. “So far, 60% of the test subjects die after initial testing due to various factors such as internal bleeding and hemorrhaging. However, of the ones that survive 40% survive the procedure and show a 50% increase in tactical thinking and overall intelligence while a decrease of 30% in free will and independent thinking. To be short, they are getting smart enough to think of more complex strategies and such but are losing the will to do anything but obey orders from who they see as their superior.”

The Senator's smirk widened in satisfaction. “Good. Those notes on how the Kamonians lowered the clone troopers' free will while keeping their tactical thinking was extremely useful. And with our subjects already superior physical abilities, they would be a force to be reckoned if we could figure out how to make it viable. Can you imagine, Aida?” This was said in a wistful tone. “The physical skills and abilities of rakghouls combined with Force-sensitivity and superior tactical thinking, all while being completely subservient to me? If we could simply find a way to harness it and maybe even make it contagious through bite or scratch like the rakghoul plague then we could let them loose on the galaxy and simply watch as they infect it all, making them all subservient to me. Empress Rodan... I like the sound of that.”

Mara and Harry listened to this with disgust and anger on their faces. To hear this woman's plans and the no doubt horrific experiments she'd placed her subjects to was extremely disturbing. It was just another reminder that one didn't have to be a Sith Lord to be sick and twisted.

However, it seemed like not all three of the conspirators agreed. “Ma'am,” asked Zak quietly, getting the senator's attention. “I know you say it was necessary but... did you really have to make a deal with Shadow Academy? It was all those disappearances among the children that got the Jedi's attention. Orphans they might have been but most were also Force-sensitive. There was no way they wouldn't have noticed that.”

The senator sneered and slammed a hand on her desk. “Don't you think I know that?! But we had little choice. Once those Force-forsaken Dark Jedi found out about our experiments, we had to either cave into their demands or risk our experiments being known to the authorities. Plus, they were just a bunch of orphaned brats anyway. No one would miss them either way.”

This surprised both Harry and Mara greatly. Not only was she not the cause for the disappearance of the children but there existed another Academy for Force-users though it was obviously not a light-side Academy if her comment of Dark Jedi was any indication.

“Plus,” continued Senator Rodan with a cruel smile, “This way we have an in on both sides of the fence. If the Shadow Academy manages to destroy Luke's little Praxeum then we will have an in with them. Meanwhile, if Luke manages to win then no one will ever find out about our little deal and it'll be business as usual. It's a win-win for us.”

Before anything else could be said, a commotion was heard outside the room. The three inside looked up at the noise and made their way out the door and into the next room.

Harry and Mara looked up to ask the woman if she knew another way into the next room only to find her having disappeared at some point. Annoyed and suspicious but unable to do anything about it, Mara gestured for Harry to follow her as she took out a small multi-tool and made a hole in the skylight through which they could enter the conference room.

Landing quietly to avoid detection, the two Jedi made their way toward the door leading to the next room and quietly opened it up a crack. They saw that it lead to a hallway and once they checked that the coast was clear, they followed the noise toward the stairs leading down to what was obviously some kind of dungeon of some kind. Luckily, there were no difficult codes to hack into due to the fact that installing one so far from the populated portion of the city would have been suspicious enough on its own.

Eventually, they reached the dungeon and beheld what was happening.

Standing near the center of the room bound in restraints was the very same man they saw the crimson-haired woman from before hypnotize. He had his hands tied behind his back and two burly guards holding his shoulders down so he wouldn't try and run. It seemed as if her saying she purposely hypnotized men who were slated to die that very day was about to be proven and it explained how she knew which ones were slated to die if she had been spying on the senator for long.

The man was blubbering on his knees as the senator stood over him with narrowed eyes. “You knew this was coming, Mr. Cliff,” said senator Rodan with a sickly sweet smile. “All you had to do was keep your mouth shut about what really happened to those children and everything would be fine. Yet I couldn't help but notice that the Jedi came here to investigate the kidnappings and not disappearances like I reported. One would wonder where they got the idea that the children were kidnapped. Obviously they had to get it from somewhere and since the only other people who knew about it are dead, that leaves only you.”

At this, the man, Mr. Cliff, began sobbing harder. “Please, ma'am. It was a mistake. I was drunk and it slipped out. Please, it won't happen again I swear. I'll never tell. Please, I have a wife and child at home. Please.”

The senator only smiled cruelly and kneeled in front of the man, her female and male aides looking on dispassionately and repulsed respectively. “Oh, I remember,” said senator Rodan cruelly. “You agreed to help cover any evidence of the kidnappings and even help me in my little project for the money, right? Your daughter is sick and needs but there's not a lot of many being a simple medic without a full-blown medical license, is there? So you decided to take me up on my offer so you can pay for your little girl's treatment.”

Harry grit his teeth as he watched the bitch mock the poor man's circumstances and actually seem to get off on his pain. Harry could clearly feel the guilt and remorse from the man for his actions yet at the same time, could understand a parent wanting to save their child.

“But don't worry,” said senator Rodan cruelly, “she'll be joining you soon. I think we're ready for human testing aren't we, Zak?”

Zak looked horrified at the prospect but meekly nodded his head at her glare. 

Senator Rodan turned back to the horrified Mr. Cliff with a cruel smile. “Be happy. Your daughter shall be the mother of a new race. You should be proud.”

Mr. Cliff roared angrily and tried to get at her but was stopped by the previously mentioned guards. Senator Rodan simply smiled smugly and walked toward a small control center behind blaster-proof glass. Meanwhile, the two guards dragged Mr. Cliff to the very center of the room that held a small indented circle just big enough for a full-grown Wookie to kneel in.

Harry suddenly knew what was going to happen and turned to his mother with a pleading look. She looked conflicted. If they tried to save Mr. Cliff then there was a good chance that not only would they be exposed but that senator Rodan would escape. They needed to pump for information in everything she knew about both her sick experiments and the Shadow Academy. But if they did nothing, then an innocent man would die.

Making a quick decision, Mara told Harry the plan. “Harry, rescue Mr. Cliff while I capture senator Rodan. Understand?” At his nod, Mara leapt out of the corner they had been hiding behind toward the control center where senator Rodan was located.

Meanwhile, Harry had Force-sped across the room toward the defeated Mr. Cliff and Force pushed the two guards into the wall when they saw him coming. Harry quickly grabbed Mr. Cliff and took him out of the circle just before it opened into a hole which would have caused him to fall into it.

Back with Mara, the woman had burst into the control center just as senator Rodan pressed a button but was relieved to see Harry had managed to rescue Mr. Cliff. That assured, Mara pointed her lightsaber at a pale Senator Rodan and her two aides, the male of which looked seconds away from fainting.

“That's far enough, Senator Rodan,” said Mara firmly. “In the name of the New Republic, you're under arrest for more crimes than I have time to name at the moment but know you'll never see the outside of a cell for years to come, if ever.”

Senator Rodan seemed to compose herself and she sneered. “I think not. You have more important things to worry about, Mrs. Jade-Skywalker. Like saving your dear son, for example.”

Before Mara could react, Senator Rodan grabbed her male aide and threw him at Mara with surprising strength. Due to the small confines of the room, Mara couldn't avoid it and so was forced to turn her lightsaber aside so as to not accidentally impale the man and catch him. Mara saw Senator Rodan use the chance to press a large red button in the center of the console and shoot the console with a hold-out blaster before running out of the room through a secret door with her female aide beside her

Mara's danger senses kicked in at that moment, only the danger wasn't aimed at her. “Harry, get out of there!” yelled Mara at her son. She watched with fear in her heart as the floor beneath Harry disappeared and he fell into the pit with Mr. Cliff. Mara watched helplessly as the floor closed itself up again and briefly saw the woman from before jump down after her son before the floor closed completely.

Mara looked over the console for a second before accepting it was beyond repair. Gritting her teeth in rage and fighting back tears, Mara forced herself to trust in her son's skill to get out of trouble and raced after the corrupt senator.

At least, that senator better hope her son survived or else she'd beg for death!

* * *

Harry had been checking on Mr. Cliff, certain that it was all over now that his mother had the senator cornered when his danger senses went off like crazy. His mother's yell only reinforced that but he had no time to react, much less do anything, as as the floor beneath Harry disappeared and he and Mr. Cliff fell into whatever pit the floor opened up into.

Harry landed on his feet and activated his lightsaber just as the floor, now ceiling, closed up again. Beside him, Mr. Cliff landed in a pained huff, before turning over and getting up with a terrified look in his eyes.

“Oh, Force above, no,” said Mr. Cliff shakily. “Oh, Force we're gonna die. We're gonna die.” 

Harry ignored his terror and used his lightsaber's blue light to see what was in there that caused Mr. Cliff to break down in terror. However, its light barely lit up the area ten feet around him as he warily looked around. His Force senses told him he was surrounded by something.... dangerous, yet whatever it is seems to be staying just outside of visual range.

“You know,” Harry jumped and turned around to find the beautiful crimson-haired woman from before standing there looking around alertly. “You're just like your father. Saving others and getting yourself into trouble while dragging me along. I'd hoped you'd inherited some of Lily's sensibility but noooo.”

“What are you doing here?” whispered Harry in surprise. He hadn't even sensed her! “And what's your name anyway?!” Then his eyes fell on her lightsaber only for them to widen in shock. “And where did you get that?!”

The woman just smiled her mysterious smile and shrugged. “Well, I couldn't just let the son of an old friend get himself killed, could I? That would make me a poor friend. My name is Nakia, by the way.”

Harry's eyebrow twitched. “And the darksaber?!”

Indeed. The lightsaber in her hand was very familiar to someone who studied lightsabers like Harry did. It was the infamous darksaber, the only known lightsaber with a black blade that seemed to suck in the light. It had last been seen during the Clone Wars in the hands of Darth Maul before disappearing. To find it in her hands now when it had last been in the hands of a Sith Lord made him very suspicious.

“Oh, this?” asked Nakia innocently. “This is mine. I lost it for a while a couple of centuries ago but I recently got it back. This would be the first time I used it again in centuries so I might be a little rusty.”

“It doesn't matter,” said Mr. Cliff in a morose and terrified tone as he went down onto his knees in defeat. “We're all going to die in here. They're going to kill us all.”

Harry was about to question the man on what he meant when they heard a growling sound around them. Instantly, Harry and Nakia were on opposite sides of Mr. Cliff, protecting him from what was coming and to prevent themselves from being attacked from behind.

Out of the light cast by Harry's lightsaber, a horrific creature walked toward them. At first glance, it looked like a slightly more human-looking version of a rakghoul he had seen in a holo once. It stood upright instead of hunched over and it's skin looked more human-looking than the rakghouls normal black and dark brown coloring.

However, what truly set it apart was the way it resonated in the Force, telling Harry that they could actually wield the Force. That and the faint gleam of intelligence in its eyes, along with bestial hunger and cruelty, told him this was no ordinary rakghoul.

Oh, and the fact it had just drawn what looked like a primitive sword from its waist told Harry this was NOT a normal rakghoul.

“Nekghoul,” whispered Nakia tensely, causing Mr. Cliff to whimper. Harry noticed another of those things had appeared on Nakia's side, this one growling at them angrily. “They're smarter than normal rakghoul and some can even talk in a manner but are still bestial. This is what that bitch upstairs has been using as a base in her experiments. They must have survived the Taris bombardment and she found them trapped in here. Instead of killing them like any sensible being, she decided to keep them as pets and experiment on them. She's been using their blood to turn criminals into smarter versions of them while being subservient to her.” Harry gulped as he noticed a pile of human bones nearby. “And disposing of the failures by feeding them to her pets.”

“Any ideas?” asked Harry quietly as the nekghoul readied itself to attack.

“Yeah, don't die.”

With that piece of useful advice, the nekghouls roared and attacked.

* * *

Mara cursed as she deflected the blaster bolts coming from the guards blocking her way toward the senator. She hadn't managed to capture the bitch of a senator because her aide kept keeping her at bay with thermal detonators, various hold-out blasters and tactical thinking. Now, she'd alerted security with some tale of the 'evil Jedi', no doubt and they were blocking her way. She could have easily swatted them aside but she didn't want to hurt men who were just doing their job.

The chase had gone through all of the Undercity and toward what seemed to be a private port with a small shuttle waiting for them. It looked like an emergency escape shuttle in case of a situation like this occurred.

Mara had managed to keep them from making it to the shuttle but only barely and now with Mara distracted with the guards, they were free to make a run for it.

“Go, my Lady, I'll hold her off while you prep the ship!” yelled the female aide as she hunkered behind a low wall as she joined the guards in keeping Mara at bay. As senator Rodan ran toward the shuttle, the aide leapt out of cover and start dual wielding hold-out blasters, doubling the blaster shots heading toward Mara and causing her to have to fully concentrate on blocking said shots from her and the remaining guards as well.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mara watched with anger as the senator lowered the ramp of the shuttle to get on the ship and escape, probably leaving her loyal aide behind.

However, when the ramp lowered, it revealed a black cloaked figure standing at the top with a red lightsaber ignited in his hand. The senator recognized the figure and shivered in terror. “N-Nott! What are you doing here?”

“Just keeping up our end of the bargain of protecting you from discovery and capture, my dear Senator,” came the smooth response. “We wouldn't want you to be captured and interrogated, would we?”

The senator relaxed at that and was about to thank him when she was impaled through the heart by the man's lightsaber. She looked up at him in shock and whispered, “Why?”

The man, now revealed to be a boy of around fifteen, grinned savagely. “We can't have you babbling on us, senator. Sorry, but we're not ready to confront the Jedi yet and you're a liability.”

With that, Nott callously ripped his lightsaber out of her chest horizontally, assuring that she would die instantly. The female aide called out her boss's name in surprising grief and proceeded to try and shoot her killer.

Nott contemptuously blocked her shots and even reflected one back that got her in her knee, causing her to fall with a cry of pain. “Now to tie up the last loose end.” He raised his lightsaber to impale the aide-

-only to be thrown to the side from a strong Force push from the pissed off Mara Jade. “Sorry, brat, but I need her alive. She has information I need, not the least of which is everything she knows about your kind.”

Nott's eyes narrowed and he attacked, exchanging lightsaber blows at a furious velocity with the Jedi Master. Mara easily blocked his strikes and sent some of her own which he barely avoided or blocked. It was obvious that Mara held the upper hand at the moment and the only result of this would be his defeat and possible capture if not death.

Nott disengaged and sneered as he took in the sight of Mara Jade standing in front of the fallen aide. His mission was to kill the senator and both her aides, or at least the female one since the male one knew little about them. However, he also knew he had very little chance of beating Mara Jade Skywalker alone. He may be strong and considered a prodigy but he knew his limits and beating Mara Jade, former Emperor's Hand, was far beyond them at the moment.

Cursing his luck and knowing he would be punished when he returned, Nott walked backwards till he was on the edge of the platform. “Another time then, Mrs. Skywalker.”

He then jumped off the edge and Mara ran toward the edge in time to see him land on the roof of a shuttle which then proceeded to fly away.

Cursing at her failure to capture such a valuable source of information, Mara returned to the weeping aide who was cradling her dead mistress in her arms tenderly. She looked up when Mara approached with a broken gaze.

“She was my mother,” said the aide hollowly. “She never admitted to it aloud and raised me as her aide at most but.... she was my mother.”

Mara looked at the girl with pity as the girl cradled her mother's corpse, realizing just why she had been so loyal to the corrupt senator despite her crimes. There was little a child wouldn't do for their parent's love or approval.

Mara just hoped Harry was okay and that she wouldn't be crying over her son's corpse soon.

* * *

Harry cursed internally as he was forced to once again jump in the air and away from his enemy before he was surrounded by nekghouls and rakghouls.

The fight with had been going... well from a certain point of view. The nekghoul, while smarter than their brethren weren't as much a challenge as trained combatants beyond them being slightly stronger than normal. They wielded their swords like clubs and battered at him to break his defense. Meanwhile, the rakghouls simply attacked like animals with claws and teeth in an attempt to get at him which he either cut them down, avoided them or Force pushed them away of they came at him in mobs.

The problem became in the fact at how pathetic he was doing against them in comparison to Nakia.

Harry was a fast-style and Makashi specialist. He specialized in economy of movement and landing precise jabs and cuts on the opponent that, while not lethal or overly damaging, were certainly debilitating. It was a perfect way to counter more elaborate lightsaber styles and he learned the basics of Soresu to fight against strength-oriented duelists. It also helped because he never landed a particularly permanent injury unless he wanted to and had complete control of his lightsaber at all times.

The problem was that his enemies were NOT lightsaber duelists. They attacked savagely and without restraint and Harry's jabs and cuts were little more than irritants. Soon after the nekghouls attacked, a mob of berserk rakghouls followed and these were so savage that anything less than a lethal blow was ignored.

Heck, he'd seen one keep coming at him when he cut off its arm!

That one moment had almost been fatal since he'd thought it incapacitated and had foolishly turned his back on it after cutting off its arms. It was only his own highly attuned Force danger sense that saved him by him jumping backwards in a roll over his enemy's heady and beheading it.

Since then, Harry had realized another weakness of Makashi and that was its weakness against multiple opponents. Sure, Harry had trained his butt off to get over Makashi's weakness to blaster wielding opponents, but against multiple close combat opponents?

Yeah, not so much.

For this reason, he'd been forced to fall back on the little Ataru basics his mother had taught him to jump around, his Djem So skills to match the opponents' strength, some Soresu practices to defend himself and channeling the Force through his body to keep him moving quickly and to match the enemy's strength with his own. All this was quickly tiring him though and he sweating heavily. His style revolved around conserving his energy and not using it in large quantities and this weakness was showing in how quickly he was tiring. That combined being forced to constantly use Force push to prevent from being overwhelmed had him close to collapsing despite it having been only 10 minutes.

Nakia, on the other hand, had shown a mastery of the Force and lightsaber combat that had him flabbergasted and green with envy. Every single move had been perfect, combining unarmed combat and Force abilities with lightsaber skill. It was the medium-style brought to its ultimate mastery as she left hordes of rakghoul dead around her and the rakghoul were actually avoiding her now and concentrating on him and Mr. Cliff. At one point she'd sent such a powerful Force push that the closest enemies had gone speeding off to the wall and he'd heard their skulls shatter against the far wall.

She'd shown a large amount of Force abilities but especially mastery in telekinesis. At one point, she'd levitated a horde of small metal pieces and sent them speeding off to rip a horde of rakghouls to chunks in a 180 degree radius in front of her.

So you could imagine Harry's frustration as he realized that if Nakia hadn't been there he would have probably have been killed or infected by now. He wasn't used to fighting mobs of enemies in close combat and this showed in how poorly he was doing. The fact that his two main offensive lightsaber style; Makashi and Ataru, were geared toward single opponents didn't help in this regard. 

The problem was compounded by the fact he was trying to keep Mr. Cliff alive. The man seemed to momentarily regain his will to live when Harry gave him his Bryar pistol and was crazily, and a little sloppily, shooting into the horde. However, more often than not, Harry had to Force pull the man out of danger or he would have been killed long ago.

As Harry jumped to avoid another strike, he realized he had jumped too far. Harry was too far to reach Mr. Cliff either through the Force or physically and Nakia was busy with her own horde at the moment. Mr. Cliff was now alone against five rakghouls who were rushing him and despite Harry jumping back toward him, he knew he was too late.

Mr. cliff shot three before the other two fell on him. They savagely bit into his shoulder and knee, causing him to scream in pain. Harry quickly cut off both rakghouls's heads when he landed, despite knowing it was too late.

Mr. Cliff knew this as well and seemed to lose all hope when he realized this. He broke down crying and Harry was forced to use all his skill to keep the rakghouls back.

“Please kill me,” asked Mr. Cliff through teary eyes. “Don't let me become one of those... things. Please.”

Harry was torn. He knew the man was right and he was already lost but could he bring himself to kill him? He was still human and despite the fact that he knew he would turn within a few minutes, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Yet if he didn't he would have to anyway once he fully turned so was there a difference?

The decision was taken from his hands when a black lightsaber pierced Mr. Cliff's heart, killing him instantly. Nakia, the perpetrator, looked down at the dead man with pity. “I'm sorry. Rest in peace.”

Harry was both horrified and relieved that the decision was taken from his hands but didn't have time to think about it since it looked like the rakghouls had decided to charge them both at once in hoped of overwhelming them.

Harry and Nakia stood back to back as they prepared for the incoming charge. “I'm sorry.” said Harry regretfully, guilt, shame and self-castigation in his voice. “If only I had been stronger-”

“There's no time for that,” cut in Nakia quickly. “Feel guilty later. For now, how much longer can you go?”

Harry bit his lip and forced back his tears as he answered. “Sorry, but I can't go on for much longer like this. I've... I've never fought multiple opponents at once. Especially not ones who can just shrug off anything but instantly lethal strikes.”

“Don't worry about it,” said Nakia absently as sent a Force push at a large group of them and sent them speeding off to the wall where their skulls shattered against it. “It's understandable and you're still young. I'll finish off the rest.”

Harry was about to ask how she was going to do that when she impaled the floor with her darksaber. Nothing happened for a second before a veritable forest of black spears, the smallest at least 10 feet tall, burst out of the ground, impaling all the remaining rakghouls, killing them instantly.

Harry watched with a dropped jaw as Nakia slowly removed her darksaber from the ground as the spears imitated her by regressing into the ground. Once she pulled it out and seemed to catch her breath for a second before standing tall once more.

“That took more energy than it should have,” Nakia muttered quietly. “I must be more out of shape than I thought.”

Harry could only look at her incredulously at her remark. That final attack was something he'd never seen before and he doubted anyone but the best of the best could have duplicated the feat and even then it would have left them considerably tired. Yet she'd done it after 10 minutes of non-stop dueling and Force attacks and only felt slightly winded?

Who was this woman?!

Nakia seemed to sense his thought because she smiled at him in amusement. “Don't worry. You'll be as strong if not stronger than me in time. I just have many more years of experience than you.”

Nakia then looked up and gathering an almost obscene amount of power, sent a powerful Force wave into the ceiling, instantly vaporizing it and leaving them clear to escape and Harry to get back to his mother.

Harry looked at Nakia warily now. Despite the fact that she'd basically saved him, he had clearly felt traces of the darkside in that attack and it put him on edge. Nakia seemed to notice this and smiled sardonically.

“Don't worry, I'm not a Sith or a Dark Jedi,” said Nakia easily before pausing. “Maybe a Gray Jedi though. Never believed in any of the Order's little rules but never went against them either so..” she shrugged and turned to look Harry in the eye. “It was good meeting you, Harry Potter. I hope to see you again soon.”

With that, Nakia jumped high into the air, through the hole she'd made in the ceiling to fall in after Harry, and out of sight.

Harry sighed and let her go, knowing that even if he tried to bring her in, he'd fail. She was way out of his league right now. Harry looked over at Mr. Cliff's corpse and felt shame and guilt fill him for failing to save the man. He should have been more aware, stronger, faster. If he had been then he could have saved him. Not wanting to think about it at the moment, he jumped up out of the hole and down the path his mother took at a light jog, too tired to run.

It wasn't until much later that he realized that he had never told Nakia his given name.

* * *

Harry fell back onto his rented bed with a defeated sigh, the guilt of Mr. Cliff's death still filling him.

It was a few hours after what happened with Senator Rodan and her subsequent death. Aida's, the female aide and now revealed Senator Rodan's illegitimate daughter, eyewitness account had helped tremendously in clearing up the circumstances around Senator Rodan's death. The evidence in the form of the hundred of dead rakghouls had also helped support their report and even now, efforts were being made to destroy the senator's experiments.

Harry had almost broken down when Mr. Cliff's wife and child appeared, crying at the death of their husband and father respectively. Harry felt guilt and shame fill him and he was sure he could feel their accusing eyes staring at him, asking why he couldn't save him.

Mara had quickly taken him away after that and ordered this room for the night. She thought he needed a good night's rest before they left for the Praxeum. Aida had reluctantly helped in finding all of Senator Rodan's experiments in return for a much reduced sentence. Even in death, the girl was loyal to her mother to a fault.

They'd also found Nakia's ship missing with the tracer Mara had placed on it lying on the floor of the landing pad it had been on. Obviously, Nakia had found it and left long before they had even thought of tracking her. While they had helped her, a powerful Force-user like her was suspicious and Mara thought that she may have been an Emperor's Hand though the way she talked about long ago events like she'd been there had been a little strange.

She couldn't be that old... could she?

His mother was currently taking a bath after having let Harry go first. The shower had helped a little but the guilt wouldn't leave him. Hadn't he been called a prodigy at the Praxeum? Then why couldn't he save one man?

As Harry's guilt and thoughts plagued him, he was brought to full awareness when he heard a familiar voice echo through the room. Getting up quickly, Harry was shown the sight of the beautiful and alluring Nakia sitting on the windowsill with a serious look on her face.

“You know, it's not your fault,” said Nakia seriously. “You tried your best and that's all anyone could ever ask. Many skilled Jedi would have fallen in your position so it's a miracle you survived at all.”

Harry felt anger fill him at her words. “I still should have saved him. But because I was too weak to do anything, a wife is without her husband and a little, sick girl lost her father. How am I supposed to look myself in the mirror and call myself a Jedi if I can't even save one man, regardless of the circumstances?”

“Then get stronger,” responded Nakia bluntly. “Train your ass off so it doesn't happen again but don't beat yourself up over it. What happened, happened. The best thing to do is move past it and not let it consume you.” She looked at the bathroom door with a smirk. “You might as well come out, Mrs. Jade. While the shower may still be on I can't hear the sound of water hitting flesh anymore which means you've left it already.”

Sure enough, the bathroom door opened showing a wet Mara Jade with nothing but a bath towel wrapped around her form and her lightsaber off but held firmly in her hand. “Good evening, Ms. Nakia I believe you said your name was?” Mara slowly entered the room and made sure to stop close to between Nakia and Harry, ready to block any attack in her son's direction. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

Nakia smiled and shrugged. “Well, I just wanted to see my old friend's son one last time before leaving and give a sort of present for all the birthdays I missed.”

“Really?” asked Mara in a bland yet slightly disbelieving tone. “And what sort of present would an Anzat want to give my son?”

Harry blinked at the unfamiliar term, though it did sound vaguely familiar. He looked at Nakia who actually looked impressed at his mother's deduction.

“I'm impressed,” said Nakia sincerely. “I made sure to hide any outward sign of my species despite almost no one knowing about its existence. Yet you managed to deduce it after seeing and interacting with me only twice. You truly deserve your reputation, Mrs. Jade.”

“Thank you,” said Mara blandly. “Now why are you here? If you've come to feed on my son I'm afraid that I can't allow that.”

Harry looked alarmed at that while Nakia looked furious at the accusation. “I have had very few friends over the centuries, Mrs. Jade,” she said in angry tone. “And the few I have had, I treasure. His father was one of mine. I would rather cut off my own heart than feed on him, regardless of whether I was ravenous or not.”

Sensing the truth in her words, Mara relaxed marginally. “Very well. Then why did you come?”

Nakia seem to relax at that and her smirk returned as she took out a medium sized box that seemed to be placed on the ledge of the window, hidden from view. “I brought this for Harry but I guess it would help all you Jedi. I know your new Order doesn't have many holocrons so I thought I'd offer a Jedi one I'd stumbled open a couple years ago. I think it would help Harry over there get stronger if that's what he wants but also help your Order as a whole.” Nakia then opened the box, revealing its contents.

Laying there was docecahedral holocron with a slight gold finish. Even from this distance, Harry could feel the light-side flow out of it in waves and the sheer wisdom it had accumulated over the centuries.

It was very familiar to any Jedi who bothered to know even a little about holocrons and the sight of it shocked both Mara and Harry.

It was the Great Holocron.

“How did you get this?” asked Mara breathlessly. “I'd heard Palpatine had gotten his hands on it and I thought it had been lost forever. So where did you find it?”

Nakia smirked and looked smug. “Please. That brat is centuries too young to hide something from me. I found his little storeroom of Jedi artifacts and other stuff and this was amongst it. No idea why he placed it there but it's the real deal.” She looked at Harry seriously. “I think you've realized a lot of weaknesses in your form and the holocron has explanations on the more advanced moves of all the seven lightsaber forms. I recommend you not only master Makashi if its truly the style you want but also add elements of other style to compensate for its weaknesses. Remember, Count Dooku was a master swordsman with decades of experience and a master of Makashi yet Anakin Skywalker still defeated him when he was only twenty-three. Dooku refused to broaden his horizons and stubbornly stuck to Makashi despite its weaknesses. I think that after what happened today, you know not to fall into that trap.”

Harry grimly nodded as the face of the dead Mr. Cliff crossed his mind. It was true. As much as he loved Makashi, its weakness had led to a man's death today and he vowed that it wouldn't happen again.

With her piece said, Nakia smiled and placed the box at the edge of Harry's bed under Mara's watchful eye. “Well, I better get going. I know we'll see each other again Harry and hopefully next time you'll be older and I'll be able to tell you more about your parents.”

Harry's eyes widened as he remembered that this woman knew his parents but before he could question her further, she jumped out the window. Harry and Mara ran to the window, they were on the 20th floor, only to see Nakia had landed on her ship and it was flying away from them.

Mara sighed at having failed to capture and question the woman. For some reason, the woman rubbed her the wrong way, though it could simply be the fact that she thought the woman might have once been the Emperor's Hand, no matter what she said to the contrary. How else would she have known where the Emperor's treasury was?

Meanwhile, Harry had sat back on the bed and opened the box, staring at the Great Holocron in thought.

This mission had shown him he still had a lot to learn still. Despite all his skill, he was still just a boy and he'd realized he'd grown slightly arrogant in his skill, sure that he was skilled enough to voercome Makashi's weaknesses no matter what. That arrogance had indirectly led to a man's death today and the guilt would haunt him for years to come, he knew.

With a determined expression, Harry promised himself he wouldn't fail again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And there's chapter 6!
> 
> This chapter was to replace the original chapter 6 and 7 of my first version. I was originally simply going to combine the chapters but I thought of a better, more realistic way of introducing Nakia. I also have Dromund Kass planned for much later so I scrapped it for now.
> 
> Hope you like the way I showed Nakia and yes, I kept her. I have big plans for her character and she'll become very important as the series progresses.
> 
> As always, Read and Review!


	7. The Burden of Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter 7**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Beta'ed by NIX'S WARDEN

**Jedi Praxeum training grounds, one month since Taris Incident, 22 ABY**

In the center of a certain training ground, Harry Potter Skywalker was standing with his dark blue lightsaber at the ready in the Soresu brace ready stance while wearing a blindfold. He breathed deeply and calmly, reaching inward to maintain calm as he waited for the training session to start.

Ever since the mission to Taris, Harry had been like a man obsessed, training his lightsaber skills as much as possible whenever he had free time. When not doing that, he was either working on his training droids to improve them further or pouring over the Great Holocron for any scrap of advice or insight from the Master of old.

Harry's failure to save Mr. Cliff had shaken him badly and he swore it would never happen again. In that vain, Harry had painstakingly poured over the flaws in his lightsaber form and his own personal skills and had found many glaring holes, much to his chagrin.

During the fight against the rakghoul, he had had many glimpses of Nakia's own style. She had seamlessly mixed lightsaber skills with Force attacks to make sure to not only take out many rakghouls at once but to make sure they never got close enough to need her to move much, boosting her ability to protect Mr. Cliff's back. While she had ducked and weaved, any rakghoul that got close enough was quickly cut into pieces in a second while at the same time she sent powerful Force pushes to keep the rest away.

Harry couldn't do that. While he had a good grasp of his telekinesis, he needed time to concentrate to send truly powerful Force pushes. The ones he had used in the fight had been awkward due to having to stop for a second (since he couldn't send one in mid-air or else risk landing awkwardly) and with no time to concentrate, they had been weak. The most they had done was send them back a few meters, not like Nakia who sent them slamming into the far wall, most of the time killing them instantly.

There was also the problem of Makashi's inherent flaws. Harry had never had a problem with the style because all his previous fights had been one on one lightsaber duels which was what Makashi excelled at. However, the fight a month ago had shown him its various flaws and just why it had been abandoned.

Makashi was terrible against multiple opponents unless one was a master in the form and had decades of experience using it. Since Harry had neither, he would have to learn elements of other forms to add to his own to compensate. Makashi also sucked against deflecting blasterfire unless, once again, one was sufficiently skilled and experienced enough to compensate. Harry was just lucky he learned this before fighting skilled gunslingers or he'd probably be dead.

However, its worst weakness was its complete lack of kinetic energy. Since the form revolved around precision and light cuts instead of power and broad slashes, it generated no kinetic energy in its movements. This meant that against strength-oriented forms like the Strong Style or Djem So, the opponent can just batter at his defenses and since the form required him keeping the blade close to him, there was a danger of him cutting himself with his own blade if the opponent hits him hard enough.

All of this highlighted the fact that Harry needed to broaden his horizons instead of stubbornly specializing in a single form. While he would continue to practice and eventually master Makashi, for now he would learn as much of the other forms as possible in order to add elements of theirs into his own.

After a week of intense study into each forms pros and cons as well as the techniques, maneuvers and other things each brings to the table, Harry slowly started to create his own style.

The style was a mixture of all the forms much like Niman was meant to be and much like the aforementioned style, it would probably take him years and hard, dedicated practice to master, not to mention years of real-life usage to work out the wrinkles. Harry didn't believe he was some kind of genius or creating something no one had thought of before but it was what he wanted. 

Every form had its weaknesses and the only form that truly covered for everything with few weaknesses was Form V: Shien/Djem So. However, Harry didn't like the form or specifically, he didn't like the emphasis on brute force and aggression Djem So demanded. Harry was never a brute force sort of person and he was naturally compassionate due to his childhood. The idea of always entering a fight with a heated mindset was.... not him.

So Harry's self-created style had its root in Soresu mentality but with Makashi tactical thinking. Basically, Harry's form embraces Soresu's “Be the eye of the storm” mentality but in a different way. Instead of being stationary, Harry would stay in constant movement, much like Ataru but maintain a clear inner defense area and a calm and analytical mind no matter what the circumstances. Makashi thinking came in the fact that the user of the form had to think tactically. Since Harry wasn't a physical powerhouse, he couldn't blow through all his obstacles. Rather he had to think tactically to work around his enemies and take advantage of even the smallest of openings to end the fight.

Basically, instead of a stationary storm that never moved which symbolized Soresu, he would be a tornado moving to and fro. In terms of defense this meant he would be deflecting any shots toward him off-course and away from him and absorbing those he couldn't. In terms of offense, it meant he would be moving so fast as to appear a blur and be completely unpredictable while attacking from many different and unorthodox angles.

This was much harder than it sounded since it required many skills that needed to be learned beforehand. He needed to have perfect situational awareness at all times. This was because he needed to sense any blaster shot toward him and be able to react accordingly with minimal expenditure of energy with maximum effectiveness. He also needed to know where every enemy and possible advantageous position was in the battleground for regaining the advantage if it's lost.

Its defense was a mix of Soresu and Shien while making use of Ataru evasions and recoveries. The wielder would also use tactics and advanced battle precognition to use their surroundings to their advantage no matter where it was.

Its offense was a mix of almost all the forms. It had Makashi's emphasis on precision and economy of motion since it lacked pure physical strength but unlike the blade-centric style, it embraced Ataru's usage of Force speed and agility while using the whole body as a weapon. He would also take a page out of Nakia's book and master mixing Force-based attacks with his form which was why he was studying Niman as well.

But of course, all this was when he finished developing the lightsaber form and mastering each of its components. For now, he was simply training the various elements of the form until he mastered them before trying to mix them together into a single cohesive fighting style. It would be exceedingly difficult and would probably constantly be revised and added to since he planned for it to have an unarmed combat version as well.

The training ground was quiet before Harry spoke. “First round of final level of Padawan mastery training session, begin!”

The training ground was quiet for a moment before it exploded with action as a dozen Marksman-H combat remotes that had been near invisible in the foliage shot at Harry's form. Harry blurred into action, deflecting the shots away from him while not moving an inch. With his eyes covered, he was relying completely on his Force senses to warn him of danger and to tell him where and how to block. While even younglings had a similar training, his was far more advanced due to the superior amount of combat remotes and the fact that they were coming from all directions, even above sometimes, instead of just ahead.

This continued for a while before Harry's movements changed slightly. Instead of deflecting the blasterfire in any direction, he reached out with the Force and tried to reflect the incoming fire back at the remotes. The blasterfire were set to stun only and wouldn't inflict any damage to the remotes but they were programmed to stop firing once hit by a reflected shot.

However, this was much harder than it sounded. The remotes weren't stationary and moved around to simulate real-life enemies who would obviously try and duck stray shots. Also, if Harry concentrated too much on reflecting a shot at a single remote, he would lose focus on the others, risking him getting hit and ending the training session in a loss.

This 'round' of the training session was geared toward blast deflection and Shien blast redirection. He was to not only protect himself from many different remotes that were constantly changing positions but also try and redirecting the blasterfire back toward other remotes. This was especially difficult because he forbid himself from tagging the remotes out any other way to force him to master blast redirection.

The first time he did this, he had lost badly. He could barely block all the shots coming from different directions, much less do anything else. In the end, he had lost due to being too tired to go on any longer. That failure had humbled him and taught him to start from the bottom. So he started with two remotes, then three and so on until he reached his current limit of twelve three days ago. He didn't consider the round mastered until he could do it instinctively within five minutes. 

It took over ten minutes but eventually, Harry managed to tag all twelve remotes, ending the session in a win. Obviously, he still hadn't mastered it but the fact he could finish the round counted as a half-win at least in his book. Harry took a deep breath and holstered his main blue lightsaber. He reached towards his back and pulled out two curved hilt blades which he activated, showing a silver green blade in his right and a red-orange one in his left. 

With the Great Holocron, Harry had finally found the schematics for curved-hilt lightsabers and built two for himself. He had built them for his Jar'Kai training which he was doing to counter his weakness against multiple opponents. It had taken a week for him to use dual blades without hurting himself but he was now reasonably competent in their usage. He was not even close to being as good with dual blades as say, Numa had become, but he was getting better and a second blade was now more of a boon than a hindrance.

When researching curved hilts, he had discovered that usually the bottom curvature was just for ornamental purposes and the important part was the degree of curvature between the hand and top of the hilt. The use of curved hilts allowed for more precise movements as well as near-perfect flexibility when engaged in lightsaber-to-lightsaber combat. It was also more complex and gave the creator more of a challenge in aligning its crystals, as well as requiring a minor variation in holding the grip. Curved hilts needed to be held more in the palm, farther away from the fingertips. The hilt's curvature also gave the wielder more power when delivering overhand strikes and would change the angle of the attacks by the merest fraction of a degree. This was usually just enough to confuse and disorient an unsuspecting opponent.

Harry had realized that while some techniques were more difficult with a curved hilt, many others were a lot more effective, allowing him greater power in overhand strikes being just the start. The curved hilt was not just limited to Form II, though it was infamous for being especially built for that form, but could be applied to any of the other forms, even Form V.

His curved-hilt lightsabers were only curved slightly at the top of the hilt, the rest of hilt from the grip down being straight. They were built similar to Count Dooku's design but without the bottom curvature and sporting with a double angular guard on the blade emitter to protect the wielder's hand while using it. One sported a silver-green blade, probably due to the Dantooine crystal used as its focus, and the other sported a red-orange blade, which probably came from the rare pontite crystal used. He'd already noticed the slight difference in wielding curved-hilt lightsabers and adjusted his Form II style accordingly. It had been slightly more difficult to get used to the new grip but now it was as easy as holding a normal lightsaber hilt.

Harry banished such thoughts as he mentally prepared himself for the second part of the training session. "Second round, start!”

From the foliage of the jungle, three BCA-11/X training droids walked out. These looked regular battle droids except they had a cortosis-laced chassis and were carrying blaster carbines, though of course these were set at low-level so they would little more than sting if they landed. The three droids were spaced out evenly and Harry prepared himself before they began firing.

Harry fell into a sort of trance-like state, performing his blocks instinctively while his blades weaved a circle of protection around him, deflecting the blaster bolts away from him. In this round, the point wasn't taking out the droids with redirected fire but rather endurance. He needed to outlast the droids, not letting a single shot get through his defense while not moving from his spot. This was blaster defense training taken to the extreme since he couldn't jump and avoid them and had to rely solely on his own Force senses and lightsaber skill to protect him.

Due to his unfamiliarity with dual blades, Harry needed to at least be reasonably competent in defending against a large amount of blasterfire with them. For this reason, he had added this 'round' in his training session in order to practice his sort-of self-created dual blade Soresu defense.

The continuous fire went on for five minutes before the droids' blaster carbine power pack ran out, signaling the end of the round.

Harry was now panting heavily, having had to channel a lot of Force energy to move fast enough to block every shot. Still, a quick check over showed he had done it and not single shot had gotten through his defenses. More intense rounds would last longer but for now, lasting for as long as he had was long enough for him to regain the offensive and end the threat. A small smile crossed his face before he readied himself for the third and second-most-difficult round of the training session.

“Third round, begin!” called out Harry as he readied himself.

Harry didn't have to wait long as two Duelist Elite droids jumped out of the jungle foliage, their blue training lightsabers ignited and ready for combat.

Duelist Elite droids were specialized droids for lightsaber training. They could be programmed with as many lightsaber styles as the user wanted and had been modified to have several difficulty levels. Harry had programmed these three with the first six classical lightsaber forms as well as the three forms of the New Jedi Order. They were also already masters of the three classical fencing styles of foil, épée, and saber. That plus having reflexes just a hair faster than the Human optimum made them dangerous enemies but great sparring and training partners.

This round was obviously about pure lightsaber combat, Harry slowly integrating his learned techniques and maneuvers from the other forms into his own until they became natural. This round was about pure skill and technique and so Harry could keep track of multiple dangerous enemies in melee combat without losing track of his surroundings. To support this, the field had many 'mines' which were basically small electrical panels that would give him a slight shock if he stepped on them. The droids automatically avoided them and so would Harry have to while fighting them or else he'd lose the round.

Harry gave his 'enemies' a Makashi salute with his silver-green blade before going into a Makashi flourish as he felt them run toward him through the Force. His eyes being covered still would enhance his situational awareness even further and help to rely more on his Force senses than his eyes.

Harry instinctively blocked one droid's slash before jumping backwards to avoid the second instead of blocking with his second blade. There was no way he'd win a contest of pure strength so instead his style revolved around avoiding, parrying and deflecting his opponents' strikes.

Once landing, Harry blocked the falling downward slash of the first which had jumped after him before returning fire with a slash of his own which was blocked. It wasn't long before the other droid joined his brother in an attempt to overwhelm Harry and the fight turned furious as lightsaber blows were sent, deflected, parried and counterattacked. 

Like before, Harry fell into a sort of trance-like state where he didn't think and simply reacted. His blades were a blur of movement as he blocked and retaliated, his mind aware of both the fight as well as his surroundings. It was very difficult since a moment's loss of concentration would end with Harry beaten. Not to mention having to be aware of the mines' positions while he gave ground but he barely managed it.

Harry had learned to embrace Makashi's emphasis on tactical know-how as well as using one's surroundings combined with Ataru's using the entire body as a weapon into his lightsaber style. It was difficult since he had to be aware of many things such as openings in the enemy's form and the surroundings but he was slowly learning. He could sense his self-made traps on the ground and deftly avoided them even as he gave ground to the droids' Djem So onslaught. Unlike his first time, he didn't miss a step as he circled the clearing while dueling the two droids.

Harry sensed an opening when one droid clashed blades with him and Harry gave him a strong kick to the abdomen to send him flying back. Taking advantage of the other droid being momentarily taken out of the fight, Harry attacked the remaining droid with a furious rain of lightsaber slashes. At one point, Harry clashed blades with the droid before he managed to redirect its blade and land a crippling blow to its abdomen. Since his lightsabers were at low power, it didn't cut it in half but it did signal its automatic shutdown since it was programmed to shut down once Harry landed a 'lethal' blow.

Harry used his red-orange lightsaber to block the second droid's attempt to capitalize on Harry's seemingly unaware form and rolled aside when the droid tried to overpower the bladelock. Harry wasn't a strength-oriented fighter, despite knowing techniques of strength-oriented style like Form V. So instead of trying to match an opponent's strength, he parried and avoided till he gained a superior position.

Harry did a backwards flip from the ground to land on his feet and once again engaged the last Duelist Elite. The droid and teenage boy saberlocked, with Harry crossing his dual blades to match the droid's increased strength. Instead of trying to overpower the droid, Harry kicked its knee joint, causing the droid to be off-balance for a second. Harry took advantage of this to change the angle of the droid's blade slightly and performed a Zone 3 attack with his red-orange lightsaber, ending the duel when it landed.

Harry smiled to himself as he finished the third round of his training session. He watched as the two Duelist Elite droids got back up and walked a fair distance away while the combat remotes hovered in the air around him. Harry took a deep breath before calming himself once more and getting ready for the final and most difficult round of the training session.

“Final Round, start!” called out Harry with both blades in a crossed blade guard position.

The droids and remotes froze for a moment before attacking him all together at once.

The final round was the most difficult of all of them. It involved all the previous rounds put together, with the twelve remotes shooting at him, the three BCA-11/X training droids shooting at him from afar with their blaster carbines and the two Duelist Elite droids attacking him in melee lightsaber combat. All of this while the mines were still active on the floor and he had to avoid them. Harry had yet to beat this particular round at this level of difficulty due to the requirements to beat it. 

The remotes and BCA-11/X training droids could only be beaten by deflecting a low-level blaster bolt from either the BCA-11/X training droids or the remotes back at them and the Duelist Elites by landing a lightsaber blow. This was especially difficult with the Duelist Elites attacking him in close range while the remotes attacked from all angles (since they floated all over the training ground and were constantly moving) and the BCA-11/X training droids trying their best to mow him down with their low-level blaster carbines.

If he mistakenly hit a remote with his lightsaber or if he was hit by either a low-level blaster bolt or a training lightsaber, he automatically lost. The same was true if he stepped on a 'mine' by mistake. This was meant to simulate real life combat so he tried to make it as realistic as possible when he created the training session.

However, he did allow himself one advantage he didn't allow himself in previous rounds.

Harry back-flipped high in the air, deftly deflecting the shots from the remotes while avoiding the blaster carbine rounds. While in the air, he instinctively blocked three shots from remotes by doing a broad sweep of his left lightsaber and angling his right one. The right lightsaber managed to deflect the shot back at a nearby remote, taking out at least one remote from the running.

As he landed, Harry rolled to the side to avoid a hail of blasterfire before Force-pushing a jumping Duelist Elite droid away from him. The advantage he allowed himself in this round was the ability to use Force powers against the melee opponents. He knew that while being good enough to do this round with pure lightsaber skill would be impressive, he needed to get used to mixing Force powers with his style. In that vain, he used this round for just that.

Harry turned into a blur as he rolled across the floor before pushing off the ground and into the air where he deflected two more shots. One hit a BCA-11/X droid while the other just barely missed a remote.

Harry had learned to prioritize his targets in terms of danger while in combat. Right now, the BCA-11/X droids were the most dangerous to him with their blaster carbines. It would be different if the Duelist Elite droids were set at higher levels but luckily, at the moment they were at experienced Padawan level. They knew a lot of lightsaber forms but couldn't use more than one at a time and were only moderately faster than a normal Human. At Knight level, they could add elements of other styles to whatever one they were using and were slightly faster than Human optimum while at Master level, they could seamlessly mix lightsaber forms, were masters in all the forms and were almost as fast as he was when he used Force speed.

So for now, the most danger came from the BCA-11/X droids followed by the Duelist Elite droids and lastly by the remotes. Harry had been trying to modify the remotes' programming to give them tactics, strategy, and make them even more random and unpredictable in terms of flight patterns but had little success. The little space they had was for the programming they already had and he needed more advanced software for what he wanted, which cost a fortune. He needed some kind of income if he wanted to continue upgrading his training droids the way he wanted.

Back in the fight, Harry did a handstand to avoid being hit by a Duelist Elite's impalement attempt and double-kicked it away. With the same force he used to kick it, Harry back-flipped out of the way of several more blaster shots and Force gripped the second Duelist Elite before slamming it into the first Duelist Elite that he had kicked away. Harry had to land in an awkward position to avoid landing on the mine between his feet, crouching on all fours to maintain balance.

Now that the Duelist elite droids were momentarily stunned and out of the way, Harry focused on redirecting the blasterfire from both types of droids back at the BCA-11/X droids. Harry got to his feet while avoiding the mines and started to use Shien deflection use his dual blades. One minute later, one BCA-11/X droid and two remotes were out of commission, leaving one BCA-11/X droid and nine remotes as well as the two Duelist Elite droids.

Wanting to take out the BCA-11/X droid before the Duelist Elite droids, who were even now reaching him, entered the fray, Harry jumped toward the BCA-11/X droid. Harry used all his skill with Shien blast deflection to block the incoming blasterfire and just managed to reflect one back at it, knocking it out of the running. He landed on his hand to avoid yet another mine and spun in place while sending out a mild Force wave, since he still hadn't mastered the technique, to give him some room. He got up and activated his lightsabers again, ready for another assault.

Harry had no time to think because the Duelist Elite droids were instantly on him, causing him to use everything he'd learned of Zone defense and Soresu to block not only their attacks but the random shots from the remaining remotes. Eventually, he regained his momentum and once again went on the attack.

Harry channeled the Force through his lightsabers and slashed at Duelist Elite droids. As they blocked it, a strong Force push was released from the blades, throwing them into the air again. Dashing forward and avoiding the blasterfire from the remotes and the mines on the ground, Harry threw both lightsabers in an arc, manipulating them with the Force to hit both Duelist Elite droids while they were in the air.

One managed to narrowly block the spinning lightsaber aimed at him but the other wasn't so lucky and was forced to shut down when it hit, landing a large slash on its back.

Harry continued to use Force speed to dodge the blasterfire while summoning the two lightsabers back to him and simultaneously being aware of where every single mine was located so he didn't accidentally step on one. Once his lightsabers returned to his hands, Harry blocked shot after shot, using all his concentration to deflect them back at the remotes and was rewarded by knocking out all but two remotes.

Harry's danger sense flared in warning, causing him to duck under a double horizontal slash from the remaining Duelist Elite droid, who had apparently grabbed his fallen comrade's blade in order to use Jar'Kai. Harry was instantly on the defensive, blocking and parrying the powerful slashes from the droid while backpedaling, almost stepping on a mine in his haste to gain distance. Eventually, he Force-pushed the droid away and back-flipped into the air to avoid some blaster fire. While in the air, he holstered holstered his dual blades and took out and activated his single blue lightsaber. He landed just in time to block the double blade strike from the Duelist Elite droid.

While Harry could use Jar'Kai for defensive purposes quite well and was a little better in offense, he was still just a little above average in his Jar'Kai cadences. Compared to the Duelist Elite droid that was an expert in all lightsaber forms including Jar'Kai, it would be better to use a single blade which he was better at to match it.

Not to mention that the droid was programmed to up his difficulty level when he was amongst the last standing. Better to fall back on the more familiar single blade usage than rely on the still shaky Jar'Kai cadences he knew.

Harry grit his teeth as he used all his skill to defend against the droid's onslaught, falling back on his Soresu stances to survive the surprise assault. Eventually, he got used to the assault and started sending counter attacks of his own mixed in with Force abilities. Eventually he disarmed the droid of one lightsaber and pressed the attack with an onslaught of lightning fast blows that forced it to use Soresu to defend. Eventually, it defended against one of Harry's saber slashes only for it to be slashed across the chest when Harry activated a second blade in his off-hand and used it to get under the droid's guard.

However, the fight had taken all of Harry's concentration and it proved to be his downfall when he took a step back to avoid a blaster shot and landed on one of the still active 'mines'. The activated mine shocked him, signaling his failure of the session.

The feeling of the mine activating and shocking him, signaling his failure of the session, caused Harry to pause in shock before he grit his teeth in frustration. “Training session over!” said Harry angrily as he ripped off his blindfold. “Result... failure.”

All the droids and remotes got up at his words and stood (or floated in the remotes case) at attention in one corner of the field designated for them to stand before and after training sessions. There, Harry would perform repairs to whatever damage he caused them during the training session.

Harry grit his teeth and angrily kicked the ground, frustrated at his failure. How could he expect to save anyone if he couldn't even complete the most basic of his training sessions?

The look of resignation on Mr. Cliff's face as he was bitten, followed by his asking to be killed haunted Harry and the feeling of failure wouldn't leave him. Harry hadn't even gone on a mission with his mother since that day, his mother agreeing thinking it would be better for him to work through his grief before they went on anymore missions.

Harry sighed and started to walk around, deactivating and collecting his 'mines' from where he'd placed them on the ground. The monotonous work helped numb the feeling of failure he was feeling and he missed the feeling of someone standing near the edge of the training grounds.

“You know,” Harry turned around to see his mother standing at the edge of the training grounds with a wry look on her face, “most people would be happy to be as skilled as you. But you? Nooooo. You take it way too far for a simple mistake that even experienced Knights would make.”

Harry sighed tiredly at her words. “How long have you been standing there, mom?”

Mara shrugged noncommittally. “Not long. Only about a minute or two. Still, I watched most of the session using binoculars from a safe distance. Klin-Fa warned me against getting too close since, apparently, the stupid training droids attack anything within range.”

Harry grimaced at that. Back when he had just started to program the droids and using them in training sessions, the droids had no programmed differentiation between targets and bystanders, only droids and organics with the latter being the target. So when Klin-Fa had passed by to get him to stop training and spend time with them, the droids had attacked her.

The event had given Harry flashbacks of Mr. Cliff's death and he'd rushed to defend her, viciously attacking his droids and remotes with his fully-powered lightsaber.

In the aftermath of that accident, Klin-Fa had angrily argued with him for over an hour about training too hard and too dangerously with Harry defending his methods. In the end, neither had managed to win the argument and Klin-Fa had refused to talk to him until he got 'his head out of his ass', as she so eloquently put it. They'd yet to speak even a week afterwards and it was starting to put a strain on everyone friends with either of them.

“I fixed that,” assured Harry his mother hurriedly, ignoring her look of disbelief. “Now they only see me as the target during training sessions so they won't attack anyone that comes by.”

“Oh, that's so much better,” replied Mara dryly. “Now I can come by and see you beat yourself up without getting almost killed. I feel so warm and cuddly inside.”

Harry frowned at her sarcastic tone. “You don't understand, I need to train so th-”

“I get it,” interrupted Mara with a heavy frown. “You feel bad for that man dying and now you want to join him in death by training yourself into the ground. I'm sorry to tell you though that there are better and more efficient ways to kill yourself than this, though.”

Harry got angry at her words and glared at her, something he normally wouldn't have dared. “I'm just trying to make sure it doesn't happen again! I wasn't strong enough and-”

“Yes, as you keep saying,” interrupted Mara once more with a frown. “What you don't understand that while learning from your mistakes is good, obsessing over them is not. If you know you need to improve then do so but what you're doing now, this..... obsessing over your skills simply for a single accident that could have happened to anyone is not healthy.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?!” asked Harry angrily. “Just forget about it?! Just forget about the fact that a man died because of my weakness and a little girl is an orphan because of me?!”

“That is not your fault,” insisted Mara angrily. “You tried your best under impossible circumstances. You should have never been forced into that position or situation and the fact you survived speaks volumes about your skill considering most Jedi would have died in your place.”

“And another thing,” continued Mara softly. “You're going to have to get used to the fact that sometimes your best efforts aren't enough and good people will die. It's just a fact of life.”

For some reason, her words enraged him. “THEN WHAT'S THE USE OF ALL THIS POWER IF I CAN'T SAVE ANYONE?! Maybe it would be better if I had died in his place or-”

SMACK!

Harry stepped back in shock and put a hand to his now-red cheek from where his mother had slapped him. “W-Wha-”

“That was for acting like a child,” said Mara angrily, though there were hints of tears in her eyes. “Don't you EVER say it would be better if you had died, do you understand me?! NOTHING is worth your death! You made a mistake, you weren't strong enough, fine! Then get stronger. But don't EVER say it would be better if you died in someone else's place, do you understand me?”

Harry looked down to the ground with tears in his eyes at her words and actions. Mara had never hit him before. At least not outside of a sparring match and the act brought back bad memories for Harry from his childhood.

Harry was brought out of his thoughts by the feeling of Mara hugging him firmly, the feeling of tears hitting the top of his head telling him she was crying.

“Don't ever say that again,” said Mara brokenly. “I was so afraid when you fell down there. I was terrified the next time I'd see you would be your corpse or worse. When you appeared, alive and whole, I was so relieved that I could cry. The thought that you might have died in that place has haunted me every day since which is why I haven't done anything to stop your training. The stronger you are, the more likely you'll come back to me, safe and alive.”

“I know you're said and guilty for Mr. Cliff's death,” continued Mara softly. “But you have to forgive yourself and move on, Harry. Mourn him, learn from your mistakes but never believe that your death would have been preferable. Self-sacrifice might be the Jedi way but there's a difference between sacrificing yourself for the greater good and throwing your life away needlessly, understand?”

“And if that doesn't convince you,” Mara gave him a piercing look. “Just think of all the people you saved by killing those rakghoul and exposing the senator's actions. She had said she was going to experiment on Mr. Cliff's daughter as well as other people. You might have failed to save Mr. Cliff but by killing the rakghouls and surviving, you ensured that no other would continue to die like he did.”

Harry froze at the truth in her words. She was right, after all. The guilt of Mr. Cliff's death had been eating away at him for so long, believing if only he'd been a little stronger, a little faster, he could have saved him that he'd failed to see the positive of his actions. If he had died then there would have been a risk of the rakghouls being used again by others and more people dying.

Furthermore, Harry dying would have all but ensured Mr. Cliff's death. They had barely held off their end together, with Harry having fallen then all Harry would have accomplished was dying before Mr. Cliff.

Harry felt a weight lift off him at acknowledging his mother's words. He still felt immensely guilty for Mr. Cliff's death and felt he needed to train more to improve his skills so he would be better prepared if it happened again, but he no longer felt like he was a complete failure. It made him feel marginally better at least.

“You're right,” said Harry lowly before he looked up at her with a slight smile. “Thanks for smacking sense into me, mom.” He winced and rubbed his cheek. “Though you didn't have to do it literally.”

Mara just smirked. “You deserved it and you know it. You were acting like a little girl.” Ignoring his muttering about not being a little girl, Mara quickly got serious. “Plus, tomorrow we have an important mission and I needed you at the top of your game, not still grieving over what was beyond your control. So once you're done picking up here, go to your room and rest up because we have a big day tomorrow.”

Harry looked surprised but quickly nodded. “Any idea where we're going?”

Mara smirked. “I'll tell you tomorrow. It's a bit of a surprise since we're not going alone. Someone else is coming with.”

Harry blinked in surprise but shrugged. “Alright then. I'll just pick up here and call it a day.”

Mara smiled, gave Harry another hug and walked away.

* * *

Harry groaned as he walked toward his room, having repaired and put away his training droids in side a cargo space he'd reserved for them on the Wayward Son.

Harry had gotten the training droids from the Temple's basement where all the other broken training droids were placed. Apparently, when the Praxeum was being created many 'good samaritans' (read opportunists who wanted to look good) donated equipment and anything Jedi-related to the Praxeum. This would have been a good thing if many of them hadn't been so damaged as to be almost beyond repair.

While they could be fixed, at the time it was more time efficient to just repair and use the better ones and sell a few of the completely unsalvageable ones for parts to buy new ones. The broken yet still repairable ones had been left in the basement and almost forgotten by everyone.

Eager to find a way to train, Harry had raided the basement (with permission, of course) for training droids, remotes and training equipment. Using some of the worst off broken droids for replaceable parts, Harry had managed to fix up quite a lot of them and took the ones he currently had for his own use while the rest were to be used by the Praxeum as a whole.

Since then, Harry constantly upgraded and improved his training droids to be faster, smarter and more efficient to better help him train. His mechanical skill had definitely been tested and if it wasn't for Jaina and Anakin helping him at times, he probably wouldn't have managed it.

As Harry entered his room, he looked at his current project which was lying across his worktable.

Lying on his worktable was an ancient Hunter-Killer battle droid that, from what the memory core stated, was over three thousand years old. Harry had found it amongst the broken training droids in the basement and instantly taken it for his own. It had been in terrible shape but ever so slowly, Hary had been repairing and improving it even further.

Next to the deactivated droid was a schematic for a very different type of droid. It was called a holodroid and what attracted Harry's attention was an account by Aunt Leia's father of a holodroid that could replicate the lightsaber skills and, to a limited extent, Force abilities of many great lightsaber duelists. The original holodroid was lost but its data core containing the information of the many lightsaber duelist abilities was still intact. Harry was planning on installing holo-projectors and the data core into the Hunter-Killer droid so it could be sued to help him train even further by being capable of sparring with him.

Of course, before all this could happen, Harry had been trying to access the Hunter-Killer droid's programming to ensure it wouldn't turn around and attack everyone. It had, unfortunately, been slow going. Whoever originally programmed the droid must have been a genius in droid programming and mechanics. Despite being so old, the droid's battle capabilities were still top-notch for recent times and it was very easy to modify. However, changing its programming seemed impossible since the creator had used a still unknown algorithm to make it. Until Harry could break the algorithm, he dared not repair it or even turn it on, lest it attack him or anyone close to him.

Sighing, Harry placed his lightsaber on the worktable next to yet another datapad. This one held all the info Harry found on lightsaber hilts within the Great Holocron.

Now that Harry had access to a verified source of information on lightsaber construction, he was planning on creating the lightsaber that he would use his entire life. Unlike the curved-hilt lightsabers he had recently created which were based on Count Dooku's lightsaber, this one would be unique to him alone. He had already marked several characteristics he wanted for his lightsaber that made it different from others. This lightsaber would be made once he became a Knight and hopefully follow him his entire life.

Harry groaned as he took off his shirt, wincing as the various aches and pains from the day-long training session coursed through him. Now that he no longer had adrenaline was coursing through him he could feel every bruise and sting from his failed training sessions.

Reaching over to his night table, he took out a med-pack when he heard a gasp by the door.

Standing there with a shocked look on her face was Jaina Solo. She was wearing what looked like her sleep clothes, being a large white t-shirt and baggy sleep pants. Comfortable and not the least bit sexy, they were totally Jaina and Harry couldn't help but inwardly grin at the sight.

She looked so cute in those clothes.

Harry blinked as the thought processed through his mind. Where had that come from?

Harry was brought out of his thoughts when Jaina walked over to him with an incredulous look on her face.

“What the hell happened to you?” asked Jaina in a shocked tone. “You look like you went ten rounds with a Rancor and lost by round one!”

Harry winced at the very accurate statement. “My training is kinda.... intense and this is the side effect.” Seeing the look on her face, Harry raised his hands in appeasement. “Mom already talked to me about it and I've promised to lower the intensity and take it easier. So don't bite my head off.”

Jaina huffed and looked at the med-pac in his hands. “So you were going to treat yourself then?” At his sheepish nod, Jaina rolled her eyes. “Come on then. Roll over onto the bed and lie on your stomach, I'll do your back.”

Harry blushed at the thought of Jaina rubbing bacta lotion on his back. “Are you sure? I can do it myself if you don't want to.”

Jaina huffed and Harry swore he saw a tinge of pink on her cheeks. “It's not like its the first time we've rubbed bacta lotion on each other whenever we did something stupid and got hurt so it's no big deal. Now hurry up and lay down already.”

What Jaina was true in a way. When they were young they had gone on many 'adventures' and the like and received their fair share of scrapes from those adventures. Not wanting to be caught with incriminating wounds, they'd done first aid on each other to hide the evidence of their misdeeds. Many times they'd had to help each other because they couldn't reach a certain spot by themselves.

Still, it felt... different now that they were older. More intimate and personal. Harry didn't know if Jaina felt what he felt but lately every time they were alone there was a sort of... tension in the air. The tension had nothing to do with them being angry with one another and everything to do with the fact that it was becoming increasingly obvious that Jaina was becoming a beautiful young woman. It was becoming harder and harder to see her as a sister-like figure and not the attractive young woman she was.

However, Harry knew better than to argue with her and obediently rolled onto his stomach on the bed. He shivered slightly when he felt her sit on his buttocks and squirt some bacta lotion on his back. Harry closed his eyes and let out a slight moan when he felt her start to rub the lotion onto his back, only wince now and then on a particularly painful bruise.

Meanwhile, Jaina was also feeling the effects of massaging the bacta lotion onto Harry's back but in a different way. Contrary to what she said, she had felt her stomach flutter at the idea of massaging lotion onto Harry's naked back. Despite having done it dozens of times when they were young, there was something fundamentally different about doing it now that they were teenagers.

Jaina watched as Harry reacted to her rubbing lotion onto his back as she slowly went from his shoulder down his back, focusing on the bruises and other wounds more than the others. She felt something in her stir as she studied the hard planes of muscles on Harry's back, showing how hard he worked for his skills. Most Human Jedi were, while not fat, not exactly muscle-bound. This was due to most relying on the Force to boost their physical attributes if they needed it.

Harry, however, obviously didn't depend on the Force alone to boost his physical attributes and exercised hard to maintain a toned, but not overly muscular physique. The end result was a well-built body that wouldn't have looked out of place on a career athlete, much to Jaina's private enjoyment.

As she continued her rubbing lotion into Harry's back turned massage, Jaina thought about the feelings she had been having about him lately.

Every time they were alone together she felt her heart flutter and her mind wondering what it would feel like to kiss him. It confused her because she'd never had such thoughts about him before he left for the Praxeum.

The year he'd been gone had been terrible in some ways. She'd never realized how much he meant to her till he had left. He was her best friend and, other than her twin, closer to her than anyone else. She shared everything with him, and the same with him sharing everything with her. Their Force bond, which had formed soon after they first met, was strong. While not as strong as say, the bond between her and Jacen or the one between Luke and Mara, it was strong enough that she always knew if he was in pain and what was his physical condition no matter where in the galaxy he was.

When she'd seen him again after so long she'd been shocked at how grown up he looked. It was like he'd left a boy and become a young man in her absence. She'd felt her heart flutter at his smile and hugs and wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.

It was also the first time she'd every felt jealous and possessive over Harry. Alema and Numa were.... okay, she guessed. Numa especially was kind and helped her whenever she was confused about something. Alema, however, made it no secret that she liked Harry as more than a friend and that put a bit of tension between her and Alema. The idea of that... harlot stealing her Harry made her grit her teeth in anger and jealousy.

Yet was what she was feeling simply the feeling of a sister not wanting her brother to date or something more? She'd asked Aunt Mara, not having any other female figure close by that she trusted, and she'd just smiled and said that she'd have to figure it out for herself. She did, however, caution her to not make a move unless she was sure about her feelings either way. She said moving for more and it turned out that all she felt was platonic could ruin a friendship.

The idea of her and Harry no longer being friends terrified her. Harry had been a part of her life for so long that she couldn't even imagine him not being a part of it. It was because of this that she'd told herself that until she knew what she felt and more importantly what Harry felt for her, then she would keep their relationship as is. She didn't want to ruin their friendship if what she felt was purely physical, after all.

Meanwhile, Harry was having similar thoughts as Jaina. He shuddered as he felt Jaina's soft hands rubbing against his back. Even when she touched a particularly sensitive and bruised spot it sent tingles up his spine. As she rubbed the lotion onto his back, he reflected on his growing feelings for Jaina and what they could mean.

Jaina and him had always been close, ever since they first worked together to escape all those years ago. The bond between them had only grown since then and when they were kids there was barely a time they weren't together. Along with Jacen, they had gone on adventures and explorations of the Coruscant Underworld, always watching each other's backs. There had been many close calls but by working together and trusting each other, there had never been a obstacle too large for them to overcome.

Yet while he was close to Jacen, he was closer still to Jaina. Their rivalry had always taken on a friendly undertone that made it clear that it was more of a friendly competition than a real rivalry. In fact, their constant competitions had only made them closer and it was rare to see them truly angry at each other. Jaina was his best friend and the one he trusted her the most yet for the most part his feelings for her had been strictly platonic.

That had all changed when he saw her again after almost a year apart.

When they had reunited, it had been like a piece of himself he hadn't even known was missing had returned. They had instantly reconnected as if no time had passed, falling into their old rhythm with practiced ease.

Yet at the same time he couldn't help but notice how Jaina had turned from a little girl into a young woman. Being constantly teased by Alema, Harry had grown slightly immune to feminine charms. Yet Jaina took his breath away with her physical beauty and the connection between them only made her that much more attractive in his eyes.

Yet was what he felt just the simple appreciation of a guy for an attractive girl or was it something more?

He didn't know. It was for this reason that Harry hesitated in acting on his feelings. That plus not knowing how Jaina herself felt made him leery of pushing their relationship further. He didn't want to damage the relationship he and Jaina already had by trying for something that wouldn't work out. He thought about asking for advice but the only ones he felt comfortable talking to something this personal about were Uncle Han and Dad.

Uncle Han was big no-no for obvious reasons and Dad.... well, from what Harry had heard about his love life before marrying Mom he might not be the best to ask.

So that left Harry to figure out his feelings for Jaina by himself. For now, he was going to take it slow and figure out what exactly he felt for Jaina before seeing if she felt the same. If they both felt more than friendship for each other then he'd give it a shot.

“I'm done,” came Jaina's slightly breathless voice. “I think I can trust you to do the rest, right? Or do you need me to hold your hand?”

Harry couldn't help but smile at her words. That was the Jaina he knew and loved. Snarky, sarcastic and quick with a comeback. Stubborn and a tendency to hide her feelings also defined her to an extent but he wouldn't have her any other way.

“No, I can do it,” responded Harry with a chuckle. He slowly got off the bed when he felt Jaina stand off his buttocks. Standing up and stretching, he instantly noticed how it didn't hurt as much anymore. He turned to Jaina with a thankful smile. “Thanks, Jay-jay.”

Jaina just waved it off. “It's no problem. You needed the help.”

“I don't mean just for rubbing lotion on my back,” clarified Harry. “Just.... you know, for always being there. For being my friend. Even when sometimes I act like an ass and don't deserve it.”

Jaina's eyes softened and she smiled genuinely at him. “Well, I can say the same to you. I know I've been sort of a brat sometimes and yet you put up with me regardless. I'm...” Jaina blushed slightly pushed forward. “.... I'm glad I met you. You're my best friend.”

Harry smiled widely at that and couldn't help but tease her a little. “Aww, I'm Jaina's best friend! Wanna hug and talk mushy stuff?” Harry just laughed when Jaina punched his arm while blushing in embarrassment.

“Idiot,” muttered Jaina said with a blush. “See if I ever open up about my feelings to you again.”

Harry just chuckled, knowing her words held no water. “Don't even try it. If it was me who said it, you would have been teasing me for weeks.” Jaina just stuck out her tongue at him, causing him to chuckle more. 

Feeling bold, Harry walked over and wrapped Jaina in a hug, causing her to stiffen in surprise before returning it. Harry smiled down at her, feeling better than he had in over a month. “You're my best friend too, Jaina, and I wouldn't trade you for all the credits, worlds or power in the galaxy.”

Jaina blushed and tried to hide it by huffing and crossing her arms. “Of course not. I'm worth way more than all that.”

“Yeah,” said Harry softly. “Yeah, you are.”

That same tension was back but this time, Harry managed to control himself and just smiled at Jaina before breaking the hug. “Well, I have a mission tomorrow so I better go to sleep.”

Jaina seemed to come back to herself and smiled at him. “Yeah, you better. Wouldn't want you to be so tired that you trip and impale yourself with your own lightsaber.”

Harry rolled his eyes at her words and shooed her off. “Go on, get out of here. How about when we get back we all do something?”

“Like what?” asked Jaina curiously.

Harry shrugged. “I dunno. Dad told me there are a bunch of crashed fighters over Yavin 4's surface. Maybe we should do a sort of scavenger hunt on the Son and collect the best ones. We'll repair them and use them as our own personal fighter or something.”

Jaina's eyes widened at the idea having her own ship and Harry could swear he saw a bit of drool. “That's a great idea!” She gave him a glare in warning. “You better come back fine, you here! I won't miss my chance to get my own ship because you're wounded.... and because I don't want you to get hurt, I guess.”

“I'm touched by your concern for my well-being,” said Harry dryly.

Jaina just nodded condescendingly. “As well you should.”

The two friends shared a chuckle before Jaina started to walk out. After exchanging goodbyes, Harry closed the door behind Jaina before heading to bed.

No matter what his feelings for Jaina were, he was glad that they were friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And there's chapter 7!
> 
> I was originally going to put the beginning of the mission at the end of this chapter but decided against it and simply dedicated this chapter to Harry's growing skill and his relationships with both Mara and Jaina. I never really delved too deeply into the former relationship in the first version of this fic which I'm trying to fix now.
> 
> For those wondering what the hell Harry's form is, basically it's Niman. However, unlike traditional Niman, whose base root is Soresu, Harry's is based on Makashi. Traditional Niman doesn't take any of Makashi's characteristics and actually excludes it from the mixed style. Harry's, however, has it at least in terms in how one thinks. Of all the lightsaber forms, Makashi is still the only one I know that emphasizes tactical thinking, the use of unorthodox maneuvers and situational awareness. So Harry's style will use that as well as Makashi's emphasis on footwork and balance unlike traditional Niman. It'll make Harry more of a tactician and strategist that way while giving him a lot of versatility. In my very first draft for this story I wanted Harry to use Niman but when I read it takes a decade to master for even dedicated swordsman.... well, Harry doesn't have that sort of time so I fell back to plan B which was Vaapad.
> 
> Harry will eventually learn Vaapad but unlike version one it won't be until the end of this book when he comes to a realization about himself. Remember, Vaapad is not so much as a lightsaber style so much as a state of mind. Him creating his own style won't interfere with learning Vaapad and will actually complement it since he needs to know all six other lightsaber forms before attempting to learn it.
> 
> For those interested, I'm using Jensaarai1's videos on youtube describing all eight lightsaber forms (including Jar'kai) as a guide. I'm really grateful for him putting those videos because they really helped me better understand each style. I really agree with him about Djem So's form basically being “Brute Force, Brute Force, Brute Force!” Lol. That's the basis of that style and the reason I'm not having Harry learn anything but the basics of it since Harry isn't a brute force sort of guy. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the Harry and Mara scene. I see Mara as a mother who would first try to let her son settle his problems by himself but when it becomes clear he won't on his own, will intervene and bluntly. She's not the type for inspiring speeches or words but still manages to help the person in her own way. Even if it means literally smacking sense into them.
> 
> As always, Read and Review!


	8. Romantic Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter 8**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Beta'ed by NIX'S WARDEN

**Jedi Praxeum Training grounds, one month and a few days after Taris incident**

Once again, Harry was standing in the center of his personal training ground, his silver-green curved-hilt lightsaber at the ready as he waited for his opponent to attack.

His last mission had been to visit the ruins of Outbound Flight, a Jedi-led mission to explore the Unknown Regions and then beyond the edge of the galaxy. It had disappeared soon after its maiden voyage led it into the Unknown Regions and no one had ever known what happened to it. However, its ruins had been found by the Chiss who had then contacted Luke offering them a round-about trip from the ruins and back so that they could gather any information for the Jedi Praxeum.

Luke had agreed and taken Mara and him along on what they'd thought would be a boring, fact-finding mission.

It had turned into anything but when the Vagaari disguised themselves as Geroon joined the voyage into the Outbound Flight's crash site. Once they arrived, they had revealed themselves and stolen one of the Dreadnaught-class cruisers that made up the Otubound Flight. Their plan had been to use it to get revenge on the Chiss who had given them a grievous defeat over fifty years ago when they had attacked the Outbound Flight.

The following battle had been both desperate and dangerous, with Luke, Mara, and Harry outnumbered with only the few survivors of the Outbound Flight, the few Chiss forces available and two ships at their disposal while the the Vagaari had brought along a large force hidden on the ship they'd said was a simple transport ship but turned out to be a warship.

During the battle, Harry had been forced to lose any doubt he might have had in his skills in order to protect the Outbound Flight survivors who already thought badly of Jedi. His skills paid off when he managed to successfully defend the survivors against the Vagaari ground troops while Luke and Mara shot down the Vagaari's stolen Dreadnaught-class cruiser using a Delta-12 Skysprite that had been hidden in the Outbound Flight wreckage.

Afterwards, the survivors decided to join the Empire of the Hand, not that Harry could blame them. While the Jedi may have been partially redeemed in their thanks thanks to Harry's actions they still did not trust them. Between the New Republic who sided with the Jedi and the Empire of the Hand who protected and rescued them, they chose the latter.

However, the most important thing about that mission had been the talk Harry and Luke had had about Harry's lightsaber and lightsaber combat style once they returned to the Temple after the mission.

* * *

**Flashback – a few days ago when they returned from the Outbound Flight mission**

“Well, I only hope those people can live in peace,” said Harry to his father as they walked down the ramp of Jade Sabre. “Part of the Empire of the Hand or not, they deserve that much at least.”

Luke nodded before he suddenly frowned in Harry's direction for a moment before turning to Mara. “Hey, do you mind if I borrow your Padawan for a moment?”

Mara cocked an eyebrow at her husband and seemed to share a silent conversation with him for a moment before shrugging. “Sure, just make sure to bring him back in one piece.”

Luke chuckled but nodded at her words. “Okay then. Harry?” said boy looked up at Luke at his words, “How about we have a sparring match? We haven't had one in a while and I want to see this new form Mara tells me you're working on.”

Harry blinked in surprise at his father's words before smiling eagerly. “Sure! I could use the advice anyway. I've been having trouble adding certain elements of other forms into my own style and I think you can help since you did the same to your own style.”

Luke's eyebrows rose at his words and he exchanged a glance with Mara, who simply shrugged and walked away, before smiling at Harry and nodding. “Alright. We'll spar in the training groundsso we won't be interrupted by mistake.”

Harry followed Luke out of the Praxeum and toward a nearby training ground. It wasn't Harry's personal one but it worked well enough. Once they reached it, they cleared a fairly large space for the spar before standing across from each other. The two activated their lightsabers, Harry blue and Luke green, making sure to change the setting so the blade was less lethal and would only leave a slight burn and bruise, before they started to circle each other slightly. They froze for a second before attacking each other at the same time.

As the duel continued, Harry tried to incorporate the elements of the other forms only to be blocked and stopped by Luke at every turn. More and more Harry felt himself be pushed back and forced on the defensive, not even capable of launching an attack. He felt his frustration rise as he saw that he was actually doing worse than the first time his father and him sparred, Luke not looking even winded as he blocked Harry's few attacks and expertly counter-attacked.

Eventually, Luke did a deft twist of his lightsaber, disarming Harry and winning the duel. It was silent for a moment as Luke deactivated his lightsaber and studied Harry's depressed form.

“Okay, I think we can both agree that went worse than the last time,” said Luke, trying to lighten the mood to no avail. Sighing, Luke led Harry to a nearby log and motioned for him to sit beside him which Harry did reluctantly. Luke extended his hand toward Harry, gesturing to his main lightsaber. “First, let me see your lightsaber. I never had a chance to actually study it since you created it.”

Harry was confused at his father's request but obediently handed over his blue-bladed lightsaber. Luke looked it over with a critical eye for a moment before speaking in a questioning tone. “What were you thinking of when you created this lightsaber?” Seeing Harry's face, Luke elaborated in a consoling tone. “I mean, what was your motivation behind building in this specific format?”

Harry frowned and shrugged. “I don't know. I guess I wanted a lightsaber that would work well in my hands.”

Luke cocked an eyebrow at his son's words. “So you picked a lightsaber tailor made for Form V when you yourself are a Form II practitioner?”

Harry started to feel uncomfortable at his father's probing questions and wanted to change the subject. “Well, there were no schematics for a curved-hilt lightsaber and it would have taken too long to create one from scratch.”

“But why this specific lightsaber hilt?” probed Luke questioningly. “Why not a normal standard lightsaber like the dozen we have as models at the academy? It would have been a better fit and easier to handle since those were made with all forms in mind. So why this one instead of any of the others?”

“Because it was grandfather's!” blurted out Harry angrily, the frustration from losing the duel so badly causing him to explode. He took a deep breath to calm himself and spoke in a lower tone. “I built it to honor grandfather and... I guess to feel a part of the family.”

Luke's eyes softened and he laid a hand on his son's shoulder in comfort. “Harry, you are my son, adopted or not. You are a part of this family regardless of whether or not you're related by blood. We love you and you don't need to create a lightsaber that looks like my fathers's as proof of that. Nothing and no one can say otherwise, understand?”

Harry nodded softly and sniffled a bit at his words. Luke smiled before looking back down at Harry's lightsaber. “This lightsaber is made for Form V specialists. It has a ridged hand grip because Form V specialists require a solid grip on the handle to launch its strength-oriented attacks. However, you are a Form II specialist. You need a lightsaber that grants you better precision and blade control than this one would give you. Since Form V relies on brute strength in lightsaber duels, the lightsabers made for it are usually used in a two-handed grip unlike Form II users like you that like a one-handed grip for better blade control. The difference causes you to have a weak hold on the blade's hilt which is why I disarmed you so easily. Can I see your secondary lightsabers?”

Harry nodded and handed over his curved-hilt lightsabers, causing Luke to smile as he studied them.

“You see, these are better suited for your form,” said Luke in satisfaction. “They still rely too heavily on another's design though, Count Dooku's I imagine?” Seeing Harry's embarrassed nod, Luke continued, “but they are better suited to your precision and speed oriented style than your first attempt. You even customized it more than you did your first, making it more your own and easier for you to handle. I imagine you're still in the process of modifying it?”

Harry nodded, feeling better as Luke explained exactly why his first lightsaber always felt so uncomfortable in his hands. “Yeah. I've been playing with the power output from the diatum power cell to make a thinner and more precise blade as well as playing with various types of crystals to see their effects. So far I've found that the Dantooine crystal gives me a stronger connection to the Force which lets me regain my Force energies faster. I think it collects the used Force power and recycles it back into me. The pontite crystal increases my connection to the lightsaber and the Force as a whole.”

Luke looked interested at his son's words and nodded thoughtfully. “I wonder if the latter was the reason the Old Order used almost exclusively adegan crystals from Ilum.” Shaking it off, Luke focused on Harry once more. “Well, that shows that a lightsaber made and modified with your own needs in mind is better than one made in a reflection of another's. My suggestion is that you use your secondary lightsabers until you finish your designs for the one you want. A badly suited lightsaber, even in the hands of a master, lowers the duelist's skill considerably.”

Harry nodded and took back his lightsabers, taking his father's words to heart.

“Now as for your style,” said Luke with an exasperated tone. “I imagine you looked over the other forms and took the techniques and movements that you thought were best of each to form your own hybrid style like the Ataru evasions and such?”

Harry nodded hesitantly, unsure as to why his father was radiating disapproval. “Um, yeah. I thought that way I could create a form that has no real weaknesses like Makashi showed me it had a month ago.”

Luke sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Okay, first I need to explain something that I never really got into at the Praxeum's classes since I didn't think it would be that important. I wanted you all to create your own, unique styles as you went out and experienced the galaxy.”

“Do or do not, there is no try,” echoed Harry, remembering the idea behind the Praxeum's training.

Luke nodded with a smile. “Exactly. Now there are many different forms and styles but at its core, there are only three types of lightsabers duelists: specialists, moderates and additions. Specialists are easy to understand: they choose a single form, combat style, etc. and take it to the nth degree. Basically, they choose a single way of fighting: Shii-Cho, Makashi, Djem So, etc. and train in it until they overcome the form's weaknesses through sheer skill and experience. Examples of this are people like Count Dooku who mastered Makashi to the point that he could take on multiple opponents and deflect blasterfire easily despite the form being weak against both.”

“The second type of lightsaber duelist is the moderate,” continued Luke in his usual lecturing which he reserved when giving classes, “Basically, they're the kind of duelist who have no real weaknesses in their style but no real strengths. This is usually because they're so busy trying to cover their weaknesses, they never train their strengths. An example is your training this past month. You were so busy trying to cover your weaknesses that you didn't get very far in terms of overall skill, did you? This is because your attention was divided in trying to train so many things at once that your overall progress went very slowly.”

Harry mulled over his father's words before nodding with a grimace. That was basically how his month of training had gone. He had been so busy trying to master blast deflection, learn new techniques and maneuvers, adding them to his style without it seeming clumsy and on top of that, defeat his self-made training session that he barely made any progress in any one aspect. This was proven in how he still couldn't beat the final round of the session where he blended it all together.

Luke seemed to read his thought because he nodded knowingly. “Usually, it takes at least a decade for moderate type duelists to reach any appreciable level of competence in their style. It takes even longer to reach mastery, if ever. This is because there are so many aspects to train at once that progress is slow.”

“The third type of lightsaber duelists are the additions,” continued Luke calmly. “These are duelists who specialize in a single form... but also incorporate bits and pieces of other forms into their own fighting style. That's not what you were doing,” said Luke, stopping Harry's protests in its tracks. “What you were doing was basically creating a moderate style. Addition duelists simply add bits and pieces of other forms to their own and only after they had mastered the form whose maneuvers they were incorporating beforehand. You hadn't mastered any of the other forms, just using their techniques without taking into account the overall form.”

Harry thought over everything his father told him before hesitantly asking. “So what do you recommend to fix my weaknesses?”

“Well, it depends on what kind of duelist you want to be,” said Luke lightly. “Moderate duelists take over a decade to completely master their chosen fighting style and that's only if they completely dedicate themselves to mastering it. The upside is they have no weaknesses and because they mastered almost every aspect of lightsaber combat they have a lot more variety. Specialists take relatively shorter amounts of time but, as you saw on Taris, they have inherent weaknesses that take time and experience to overcome.”

“What about addition duelists?” asked Harry curiously, warming up to the topic. They never actually covered this in the Praxeum and it was extremely interesting to hear. He wished he'd heard it before since it would have helped him immensely.

Luke smiled, seeing Harry becoming less defensive and more accepting of his advice. No one liked to have their entire fighting style criticized, after all. “Addition duelists are variable in terms of how long it takes to master. Some addition duelists master a single fighting form and then study another until they reach competence in it before adding aspects of it to their overall style. It also depends on what you want your fighting style to be.”

“For example,” said Luke with a smile as he got into the lecture. “Obi-Wan was an addition duelist. He first mastered Ataru when he was young, but after seeing Ataru's lack of defensive capabilities, he went on to master Soresu and specialized almost exclusively in that for almost ten years. However, after a particular encounter just before the Clone Wars officially started, he realized that pure Soresu just wouldn't cut it, especially not in a war where he'd have to go on the offense eventually. So he started adding aspects of Ataru to his style until he created a style that was mostly around defense but had aspects of Ataru in it as well. He could only do this because he'd mastered Ataru beforehand.”

“So I need to decide what I want my fighting style to be like before deciding on which forms to study?” asked Harry questioningly.

Luke nodded with an approving smile. “Yes. Personally, I thought Makashi suited you for various reasons. You were right when you said you'd never have the natural brute strength for the more strength-oriented forms like the Strong Style, Djem So or the other aggressive forms. Therefore, you'll have to rely on speed, precision, cunning and agility to overcome your foes. Makashi suited you in almost all of those. It was fast, emphasized precision and mobility as well as battle tactics to beat your opponents.”

“But what about its weakness to multiple opponents and blasterfire?” asked Harry, half in agitation and half in question.

“Then work on your blast deflection first,” said Luke calmly. “It will help you overcome the form's weakness against blasterfire and training to track many different enemies at once will also help in training you against multiple opponents.”

“Or,” continued Luke slowly. “You could master another form whose strengths and weaknesses are opposite to Makashi's. Shii-Cho is strong against multiple opponents and is a good base for blast deflection. It's weak against single opponents and lacks precision but in those cases you have Makashi to fall back on.”

Harry's eyebrows furrowed in distaste. “Shii-Cho? Form I? Isn't that the form for children learning the basics?”

Luke's eyebrows as he stared at his son. “What? Are you too good for it?” Seeing Harry flush in embarrassment and look down chagrined, Luke smiled conspiratorially. “Want to know a secret about Form I?” Harry looked up in curiosity. “One Jedi Master Kit Fisto from the Old Jedi Order was a master of Form I and was considered one of the greatest duelist of his age almost on par with Obi-Wan and my father pre-armored.”

Harry was surprised at the revelation and nodded absently as he thought it over. His father's suggestion made sense and he really hadn't made much progress with his current training regiment. There was simply so much to cover that sometimes he felt overwhelmed with it all and became frustrated, slowing his progress even further. Shii-Cho was relatively easy to learn and would help cover his weaknesses against multiple opponents and blast deflection once he mastered it.

Still.... “What about dual blades?” asked Harry questioningly. “Wouldn't that answer my weakness to multiple opponents?”

Luke nodded in agreement. “Yes but personally, I don't recommend learning to wield dual blades until one has mastered a style to the point you can use it with two blades. Jar'kai is more of a tactic than an actual lightsaber style so it's best to back it up with an already established style. Plus, Jar'kai has its own weaknesses that would only add to your own and only answers one of Makahsi's weaknesses instead of all of them. You would be even more vulnerable to blasterfire since if you can't defend yourself with one, it'll only be harder with two. That and it would make Makashi's lack of momentum fatal since Jar'kai halves your defensive blocks' strength. A competent power-duelist would be able to break through your defense until you built up the upper body strength to block power blows one-handed.”

“Okay,” said Harry slowly as he thought it all over. “So for now I'll focus on mastering Shii-Cho to cover my Makashi form's weaknesses while continuing to advance in my skill with Makashi. I'll train my upper body strength for if I decide to use dual blades.” He nodded to himself and smiled up at his father in thanks. “Thanks, Dad. I really needed the advice.”

“I could tell,” said Luke dryly, chuckling at his son's insulted look. “No offense, son, but you were running yourself ragged this past month. The only reason I didn't interfere earlier was because Mara asked me not to until she'd spoken to you first.”

Harry blushed in embarrassment before a thought came to him. “Hey, Dad? How did you know all this anyway? I thought you and the other Masters had to create the Praxeum's three styles from scratch because you didn't know enough of the previous forms to teach them?”

Luke gave Harry a dry look. “Do you think you're the only one who used the Great Holocron? While you were busy learning techniques and maneuvers, I actually used the Great Holocron for what it was made for which was to learn, not imitate. I studied each form's history and asked the Gatekeeper's as to each form's strengths, weaknesses and mindset thoroughly. I'll have to start restricting access to it though, in order to stop other ambitious younglings from trying what you did and make a mess of things. There is a reason the basics are taught until they're almost instinctive and why each form has lasted for so long despite their weaknesses. Despite their weaknesses, they work.”

“And for your information,” said Luke with a humorous smile. “There's already a form that combines all the elements of the others. It's called Form VI: Niman. You'd know that if you'd studied the form's history and philosophy instead of just it's maneuvers.”

Thoroughly chastised, Harry smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, Dad. It won't happen again.”

“See that it doesn't,” said Luke seriously before smiling lightly and standing up. “Now we still have about two hours of daylight left so why don't I start teaching you Shii-Cho? Remember to use one of your secondary sabers since they're better suited.”

Harry nodded as he stood up and got activated his silver-green blade while standing across from his father. “I'd like that, Dad.”

Luke smiled and activated his own saber, both making sure it was set so it would only leave a slight burn at most. “Well then, Harry. Let's start.”

**Flashback end**

* * *

The conversation had really helped Harry plan his lightsaber form more thoroughly as well as explain why he had been having so much trouble making any progress. Since then, Harry had been training with his father in Shii-Cho so he could use it in combat while working on further mastering Makashi.

To help in this, he'd asked his mother to help him train. Mara was mostly a hands-off sort of master who only interfered when it was necessary like she did before the Outbound Flight mission or was asked. So when Harry asked for help, she threw herself into doing so with her full effort.

Harry felt the Force warn him of danger and he turned and deflected a slash from Mara as she leapt out of the treeline, using a spin to amplify the power behind the strike. Harry had been forced to push his parrying and deflecting skills to the limit in his training session with Mara whose Ataru form was fast, intricate and powerful. The point of the spars was to teach Harry how to fight faster and more agile opponents with Makashi alone.

So far, he had learned to attack his opponent's legs to force them to jump over him where they'd be mostly undefended from a counterattack from him. It didn't always work, especially if the opponent was expecting it but it was a tactic he could employ against more acrobatic duelists.

Mara was also teaching him Ataru so he could have another form to use in combat in case Makashi didn't work but it was slow going. Makashi was all about footwork and keeping oneself grounded so Ataru's acrobatics and flips were sort of its opposite. For someone like Harry whose main form was Makashi, it was really difficult to lose the tendency to send jabs and light cuts at an opponent and adapt to Ataru's more fast-paced and less precise form.

Still, the training sessions were helping and he felt himself improving much more rapidly than he had in over a month. Makashi was simply put the form that most fit him as a duelist. Its emphasis on precision, footwork and tactical know-how fit perfectly with Harry's own tactical mind. Once he mastered the ability to augment his Force speed without losing any precision, he'd become an extremely deadly duelist.

His Shii-Cho training only helped in that respect. Shii-Cho worked by the duelist working with the flow of the battle to aid him. In a way, it revolved around using giving into the Force to guide one through the best path to victory and combined with Makashi's emphasis on tactical know-how, it made for a devastating combination.

Harry and Mara exchanged lightning-fast blows, Harry launching precise and quick jabs, causing Mara to defend herself and lose the momentum of the offensive. That was another tactic Harry had learned to employ against Ataru duelists. Break their offensive momentum and force them on the defensive. Specialist Ataru duelist usually have a weak defense and as long as he controlled the momentum of the fight he could outfence them.

Of course, that only worked for more inexperienced duelists. Against someone like Mara, who had decades of experience and had been trained by someone who was hailed as one of the best lightsaber duelists of all times, it little more than a small setback.

Harry used his footwork to work around Mara's slashes and strikes, deflecting and parrying madly while making sure not to take the full brunt of her powerful strikes. Duelists in Harry's were rarely specialists and their styles were usually hybrids based on what little they knew of the formal forms and the needs of the moment. Calling Mara's form pure Ataru was insulting. While its pure root might have been Ataru, time and experience had created a style that was a hybrid of many forms and suited her well both against multiple opponents, blaster-wielders of even Boba Fett's caliber and enemy lightsaber wielders.

In short, Mara was an addition duelist whose style had been created through harsh training and combat experience making her the perfect teacher for Harry who wanted to learn to adapt his Makashi form to any situation.

Eventually the duel ended with Harry overextending himself in a thrust and Mara grabbing his overextended hand and bringing her blade up to his throat.

All was silent before Harry sighed. “I concede.”

Mara smiled and let him go. “Don't look so sad, Harry. It'll be a long time before you can stand up to me in a lightsaber duel and you're getting better. Especially now that you've gotten your head out of your ass and actually asked me for help instead of trying to imitate the lone wolf and do everything by yourself.”

Harry maturely stuck out his tongue at her causing her to laugh. Harry sighed as he thought over his training. “I'm getting better but I still need to either create my own advanced maneuvers for Makashi or find someone who can teach me them. You already taught all you know about it, right?”

Mara shrugged and nodded. “Yeah. Luke said he might know someone and he's going to ask so you'll just have to wait. In the meantime, just relax and work on your other forms and training. How's your blast deflection training going?”

Harry smiled happily at that. “Really good actually. Now that I'm not forcing myself to use only Soresu for blast deflection I'm slowly applying Makashi to it. It's kinda hard since my blade is thinner than normal lightsaber blades. This makes it easier to handle and more precise for dueling but makes it harder to deflect since it has less surface area. In a way, it forces me to make every deflection count and not waste time trying to deflect every single shot.”

Mara smiled at Harry's obvious happiness. “That's good. It's best to simply adjust your style for the needs of the moment than to completely change your style just because it doesn't answer a specific need. Eventually, with enough experience, you'll be able to adapt to any situation.”

Harry nodded in understanding. “Hopefully. Shii-Cho also helped me know how to sort of go with the flow of the battle and using it to aid me. So that really helps in helping me control the flow of the battle.”

Mara nodded with a smile. “That's good. Well, training is done for the day. Take the rest of the day off.” Seeing Harry about to protest, she raised her hand to stop it. “I know you could probably go for longer but you've been avoiding your friends for long enough. Be the bigger man and go ask for forgiveness for being a dick this past month.”

Harry grimaced at her words but nodded. The truth was that he had been avoiding them ever since he returned from his mission. After getting some sense knocked into him by his Mom, he realized how much of a dick he'd been to his friends, avoiding them to go train himself to the bone and worrying them by coming back in a foul mood and full of burns and bruises. Heck, he didn't even remember the last time he just sat down and talked to them. Mom was right. He couldn't avoid them forever, but he just didn't know where to start.

Sighing to himself, Harry nodded and made his way back to the Praxeum, thinking of how to approach his friends.

Harry was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice someone walk up to him until they cleared their throat and spoke. “You know, I haven't seen you in over a month and this is how you say hi? And I thought we were friends.”

Harry blinked and he smiled widely when he saw none other than Alema standing in front of him. “Alema!? How have you been?! I haven't seen you in forever!”

Alema smiled and gave him a hug which he eagerly returned. “I've been alright. My master rarely comes back here so we've been basically going from place to place. You know, fighting injustice and all that jazz. How about you? I heard something happened last month that turned you into a reclusive, mean hermit.”

Harry winced at the extremely accurate depiction of his attitude for the past month. Trust Alema to put it so bluntly. “Yeah, a civilian I was trying to protect died on my watch and I sort of went a little obsessive in my training afterwards.”

“A little?” Harry turned to see Numa walking out of the Temple to stand beside her sister. “Klin-Fa told me you almost bit her head off when she tried to get you to slow down. Seriously Harry, what the fuck?”

Harry winced and looked down in shame. “Yeah, I need to apologize to her about that and to everyone else as well. I just don't know where to start.”

“Weelll...” said Alema humorously. “'I'm sorry' is usually a good starting point. Followed by excessive self-flagellation, bowing and scrapping and they may forgive you.”

Harry couldn't help but chuckle and roll his eyes at Alema's much too happy explanation of what he had to do to get their forgiveness. “And I imagine you have a plan on how I can do that, right?”

Alema winked at him before sliding up to him and wrapping herself around his right arm, causing him to blush at the feel of her pressed against him. “Yep. I was even so kind as to write a speech for you on this here flimsy.” Alema waved a sheet of flimsiplast at him to show him said speech. “Now come on. The group is eating midday meal right now so it's the perfect time to get them all at once.”

Harry's eyes widened as Numa grabbed his left arm and started to help Alema drag him toward the dining hall. “W-Wait! Now?! Can't we do this like... later or tomorrow or something?”

“Nope,” said Numa simply. “You've been avoiding them for almost a week now and it's time for you to man up and face them.”

Harry could do little to stop the two determined Twi'lek girls as they dragged him into the dining hall. The people inside stopped eating for a moment to stare at the strange sight of the two Rar twins dragging a strangely reluctant Harry toward the table where his friends were eating.

Eventually, the group of three reached said table which fell silent at the sight of Harry. Everyone at the table looked at each other awkwardly, as if unsure what to say with only Jaina saying hi to Harry. Well, Tenel Ka just kept eating though that might be due to not caring one way or another rather than lack of awkwardness.

Alema threw an arm over Harry's shoulders and smiled winningly down at the group. “Hey, everyone. Harry here has something to say and I think we all need to listen. However, I know that he's a terrible public speaker so I was kind enough to write down what he should say on this flimsy.” Alema forcibly pushed the flimsy into Harry's hand who took it with a quizzical look on his face. “Now talk, Harry.”

Harry could only gulp as he fidgeted under the eyes of his friends who were looking at him warily as if he'd explode any second. Klin-Fa, especially, was looking at him with a cocked eyebrow and crossed arms as if waiting for him to speak. The pressure made Harry very glad Alema has actually given him what to say instead of trying to find the words.

“Well.... um..” Harry looked down at the flimsiplast only to look up at Alema incredulously. “Seriously, Alema? This is my speech?”

Alema just crossed her arms and gave him an expectant look. “Yes, yes it is and it took me the entire trip to the Praxeum to get it right so you better be grateful. Now speak!”

Harry sighed and rubbed his closed eyelids before deciding to just get it over with and started reading. “'I'm sorry for acting like such a major stupid-head whose brain in as big as a thimble.'” He sent a glare at an amused Alema who gestured for him to continue. “'I'm sorry for treating you, great people whose presence I should be grateful for even basking in the presence in, the great Alema in particular,'” Everyone rolled their eyes and looked at Alema who had a face of false innocence. “'the way I have been treating you for the past month. But luckily, the great and wise Alema has graced me with her wisdom and personal experience, and I have passed through my dark and broody time to come back a better man.'” 

Harry was seriously starting to think it would have been better to just make it up as he went along but the small smiles on everyone's face and snickers kept him from just stopping midway through. “'I can only humbly ask that you forgive and forget and give thanks to the great Alema for helping me past this. My only excuse is that I am a stupid, stupid boy whose emotional depth is about equal to a teaspoon.'” Here Harry sent Alema a betrayed look and she only sent him a kiss in return, causing him to roll his eyes. “'Now can we be friends again?'”

Everyone stayed quiet for a moment before Tenel Ka was chosen as spokesperson and stood up. “As the representative for the Group of Future Awesome Jedi Knights, I, Tenel Ka, grant thee our forgiveness and graciously allow you back into our ranks. However, you shall be given a demerit and punishment for your actions so you may atone.”

Harry bit back a smile as he saw everyone try to look proper and noble and completely fail at it, with the marked exception of Tenel Ka. In fact, if he didn't know any better he'd swear she had training in this sort of thing. “And what shall my punishment be, gracious Lady?”

Tenel Ka didn't even blink though he could swear he saw an amused twinkle in the her eye. “Your punishment will be to spend the rest of the week with us without excuses and only training when commanded by your master.”

Harry couldn't hold back a smile as he saw everyone smiling up at him, forgiveness and friendship in their eyes. “I shall accept these terms, my Lady.” To further sell the show, Harry grasped Tenel Ka's hand and kissed the back of it, getting a scowl from Jacen and slight blush from Tenel Ka, though it was almost invisible.

“Oh, just sit down, you idiot,” said Yabeley with a smile.

Harry chuckled and did just that, sitting beside Alema and Jaina, the latter of which immediately starting telling him about the latest project she was working on. The conversation around the table started once more, only this time including him every now and then. It was almost like he had never left in the first place. Harry sent Amela a grateful look who just smirked and winked at him before returning to her conversation with Klin-Fa who just smiled at him, silently telling him he was forgiven.

Harry let the warmth of the moment flow over him, filling him with joy and a sense of belonging.

It was good to be amongst friends again.

“Hey, are you even listening to me!?” asked Jaina angrily.

* * *

**Harry's room, Jedi Praxeum, Yavin 4**

Harry groaned as he walked into his room after a long day.

The time he spent reconnecting with his friends had been great and he had been informed of a lot of things he'd missed. For example, it seemed that now Yabeley and Bey had a silent war going on between them for Klin-Fa affections. Apparently, they had originally thought they had no chance since they thought she was interested in him but after his... leave of absence... they regained their confidence and were now silently chasing her.

Of course, from what Harry had noticed she didn't seem interested in either of them but whatever. He wasn't going to be the one to rain on their parade.

Harry walked over to his worktable and looked over his latest project. After his talk with his father, Harry had decided to completely retool not only his planned lightsaber form and style but his lightsaber itself. His comment about needing to build a lightsaber that fit in with his needs instead of copying someone else's and forcing himself to get used to that lightsaber, had hit a cord in him.

In that regard, Harry was retooling his main lightsaber to his own needs. He had abandoned almost all of the characteristics of Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber except for making a note to make his new saber be able to work underwater similarly to his. He had briefly toyed with the idea of making his new saber a curved-hilt crossguard saber but was undecided on that idea. He'd have to abandon the idea of angular guards he had on his prototype curved-hilt lightsabers and he was undecided on which was better.

So far, he'd decided on it being a curved-hilt lightsaber (obviously) and had lengthened the hilt from Anakin's twenty-eight centimeters to a longer thirty-four centimeters. The extra length gave him more space to properly arrange the crystals and the compound power cell he was planning on using. The compound power cell meant it would last much longer than even normal lightsabers. This is because he had a feeling his life would not be so calm that he would rarely use his saber like his father probably wished.

The longer hilt also let him hold it in a two-handed grip without having to overlap his hands or touch the part of the hilt holding the power cells like Anakin seemed to favor.

He also toyed with the idea of adding a dual-phase setting to the lightsaber. A lot of people called it antiquated and a mark of old people but it also gave the duelist who could use it correctly an edge in combat. By switching between settings quickly, the opponent would be caught off-guard and find it hard to defend themselves. Combined with the curved-hilt's already slight angle change and Makashi's rarity, it would give Harry an incredible edge if he could master its use in combat.

Harry was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on his door. Curious as to who it could be, Harry walked over and opened it to reveal Numa standing outside.

“Numa? What are you doing here so late?” asked Harry curiously.

“What? A girl can't visit a friend she hadn't seen in over a month?” teased Numa, getting Harry to smile sheepishly. “Can I come in?”

“Sure,” said Harry, standing aside so she could walk in. Closing the door behind her, he watched as she looked around with a small smile. “Did you need something?”

Numa shook her head. “No, I just wanted to talk. You aren't the only one who's been cut off from their friends for over a month and a holo just isn't the same.”

Numa sighed as she toyed with some of the lightsaber components on his worktable as she spoke. “Can I, like,... talk to you about something personal?”

Harry's eyebrows rose but he nodded as he sat on his bed, gesturing for Numa to do the same. “Sure, Numa. You can talk to me about anything, you know that. But first, why can't you talk to your sister or Master about this?”

Numa sighed once more as she sat beside Harry on the bed. “That's actually the problem in a way. For the past month, our Master and us have been going from place to place, doing missions and investigating crimes. At first, it was exciting and thrilling but after a while, it got.... lonely.”

Harry cocked an eyebrow at her in confusion. “Lonely?”

“I know, it sounds dumb,” said Numa sadly. “I was always with either my Master or Alema and I could talk with either of them at any time but... how can I explain this?” Numa seemed to think about it before turning to him with a serious look. “I love my sister and my Master. Don't doubt that. I really, truly love them both. Alema is my sister and while she may drive me crazy sometimes, I would do anything for her. Master Daeshara'cor was the one who freed us from slavery and gave us this life. We probably would have become sex slaves by now if she hadn't come along and rescued us, passed around like a toy amongst our owner's friends.”

Harry grit his teeth and squeezed his fist at the image. He had never given much thought as to the fate of the Twi'leks and the almost institutionalized slavery their race lived under. Ryloth didn't have many natural resources except for the beauty of their females and so made credits in that way.

But now, hearing how two of his friends would have become some sick bastard's plaything if not for a quirk of fate made his blood boil. He absently wondered how many other girls like Alema and Numa didn't have their luck and were forced to live a life catering to another's whims. It made him understand just why their master was so dead set against slavery of any kind.

“But anyway,” said Numa lightly. “I love them but.... I guess now that I made other friends I realized how lonely it was. Before coming here my only real friend was my sister and Master Daeshara'cor. Back then I didn't have anyone else so I never really gave much thought to it and I didn't feel lonely.” She smiled sadly at him. “But after spending time here at the Praxeum and becoming friends with you and the others and spending time with you.... I guess what I'm trying to say is that the nomadic lifestyle was no longer enough for me. Alema feels the same which is why she was so touchy-feely with you today. We really missed you.”

Now that Harry thought about it, Alema had been very friendly today. He hadn't noticed because that was how she usually was but she had spent most of the day by his side much like Numa and had only left it to go to sleep. She had even made him promise to spar with him tomorrow, saying that she wanted to see how much both of them had improved under their Masters.

Harry smiled at Numa and and wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her closer to him. “I missed you too.” He really had. While he was close to the others, he had known Alema and Numa for over a year and had missed their daily sparring sessions and just talking to them. “It just wasn't the same without you two here.” He smiled sheepishly. “Knowing you two, you would have been able to smack sense into me much earlier if you had been here.”

Numa smiled at that. “Probably. Though knowing my sister, she probably would have either attacked you to shock you out of it or just made out with you in the middle of the Praxeum to shock some sense back into you.”

Harry laughed at that very true statement. He could actually see her doing it and had to admit that the second option wasn't unappealing. Alema was very beautiful, after all. Discreetly eying her from the corner of his eye, Harry studied the girl beside him.

While twins, Numa and Alema had some discreet differences. Numa was about a centimeter or two taller and had a more athletic and willowy figure compared to Alema's more full-figured and curvaceous form. The differences were minute though and Numa was equally curvaceous but she had a calmer, more subdued aura than Alema's more exuberant and excited one. The end result was that Numa was regarded as the eldest regardless of which of the two girls actually was the eldest.

“What would you have done?” asked Harry quietly. Seeing her confused look, he elaborated. “If you had been here this past month. What would you have done to snap me out of my funk?”

Numa smiled kindly at him as she spoke in a slow, understanding tone. “I would have sat you down and talked to you. I would have told you I understand what you felt and comforted you.” Seeing the look on Harry's face, Numa smiled sadly. “Our Master and us usually do missions involving freeing slaves and the like. Sort of a way to give fellow sisters that aren't as lucky as us a second chance. The problem is... sometimes we don't always get there in time. Or worse... some girls actually want to be slaves and can't understand freedom.”

Harry winced and looked at Numa in pity and understanding. He thought he'd had it bad watching a man he'd tried to protect die. But Numa and Alema had actually watched girls they'd freed not only die before they could save them but some actually willingly return to slavery. The former was bad enough but the latter was enough to make one question if it was even worth it.

“Sometimes,” said Numa quietly as she started to cry. “I wonder if it wouldn't have been better if I'd stayed a slave for all the good I do. I can't even convince fellow sisters to embrace their freedom.”

“Don't ever say that,” said Harry harshly, the image of Numa dead causing ice to form in his stomach. “Don't you ever think that you are better off dead.”

“Harry...” said Numa through wide eyes.

“You are a beautiful, smart, brave girl who has a lot to give to the galaxy,” said Harry firmly before his tone softened. “The galaxy would be a much darker place without you in it. I can't imagine living in a galaxy where you're dead.”

Numa blushed as she stared at him with a strange emotion in her eyes. “Harry...”

The two teens got closer and closer, their eyes closing as their lips got ever closer. There was a pause for a second as if waiting to see if they would be interrupted, then their lips met.

Numa moaned into the kiss, her first kiss, and slowly deepened it. While she had never kissed anyone before, the older women in the cells had taught her and her sister how to please their future customers in many different ways. One of them was through their kisses, how to make them sensual and increase their owner's arousal. She clumsily tried to apply those techniques now without much success.

“Ow!” cried Harry when Numa tried to lightly bite his lower lip and bit too hard and drew blood.

“I'm sorry!” cried Numa in mortification. Oh, great. Her first kiss with her crush and she messes it up by biting him. Way to go, Numa.

“It's okay, it's just a scratch,” assured Harry as he licked his lip and the blood loss stopped. He smiled at Numa softly and placed a hand on her cheek, causing her to blush slightly. “Now where were we?”

Numa bit her lip and smiled shyly at him. “Here, I think.”

The two kissed once more, this time with much more success than their first attempt. They didn't try anything more complicated than brushing each other's tongue with the other's, not wanting to ruin the moment.

Slowly, Numa drew Harry back onto the bed on top of her, their lips never leaving the other's.

* * *

**Jedi Praxeum training grounds, the next day**

Harry had a wide smile on his face as he walked out of his room toward the training grounds to meet up with Alema.

Last night had definitely ended on a happy note. They hadn't gotten any farther than some heavy kissing and a little light petting, Harry not wanting to go too fast and Numa happy that he respected her enough to let them go at her own pace. However, that didn't make it any less of a good thing. They hadn't talked about what this meant though. Whether this meant they were dating now or just randomly making out and they were free to see other people or whether they weren't dating dating but they couldn't see other people.

Harry rubbed his head as it hurt from thinking about it too hard. Girls could make things so damn complicated. Though, he smiled once more as he remembered their make-out session and the chaste kiss goodbye she'd given him before going to her room, the rewards were well worth it.

Eventually, Harry reached the training ground to find Alema already waiting for him. “Hey, sleepyhead!” cried out Alema teasingly. “Did you have a late night or something? It's almost 9am!”

Harry blushed as he remembered that Numa and him didn't stop making out till almost 1am and that was why he'd slept in. When Harry passed her room, it was obvious that Numa had also slept in.

Speaking of... “Did you and Numa stay up late talking last night or something?” asked Alema with a frown. “Cause she was still sleeping this morning too.”

Harry successfully fought off an incriminating blush, definitely not wanting to talk to Numa's sister about their little make-out session last night. “Yeah, we talked a bit about what we'd each been doing and then got into talking about me helping her build a new modified double-bladed lightsaber. I'm redoing my own lightsaber to fit my needs too and so she decided to do the same to her own.”

It wasn't a lie. During the breaks between their snogging sessions, he had told her about his Dad's talk with him and how he was retooling his lightsaber. She had expressed interest in doing the same with her own paired lightsabers and asked if they could meet during every afternoon to discuss it.

Of course, Harry had gotten the distinct feeling, due to her cute blush and not wanting to meet his eyes, that Numa had another reason for wanting to meet with him every afternoon but he was smart enough not to mention that to Alema.

“Oh, really?” asked Alema curiously. “I was actually thinking of changing my lightsaber as well. I heard about something called the guard shoto and I think it would well with my defensive style. The problem is that while I have the designs, I don't know what modifications to add to it. Can you help me?”

Harry shrugged. “Sure, it's no problem.” It would probably cut into my time alone with Numa but he couldn't exactly say no without it looking suspicious. Plus, he couldn't say no to a friend.

Alema smiled brilliantly at him and he couldn't help but be reminded of Numa at the moment. “Thanks, Harry.”

Harry smiled and activated his silver-green lightsaber, having made sure beforehand that it was set at practice level, and got into the Makashi opening stance. “Now let's see how far we've both come, huh?”

Alema smiled wickedly and activated her silver blade. “Let's. But I have to warn you... I'm no longer as easy to beat as before.”

Harry just gave the Makashi salute followed by the Makashi flourish. “Bring it on.”

With that, the two started the duel, Harry opening with a series of lights jabs at her center which she dodged before launching her own strike at his left arm.

Harry easily deflected the strike and the two exchanged a few fast and powerful blows before disengaging. The two circled each other for a moment before Alema smirked.

“Harry? You know how I told you was thinking about changing my lightsaber?” Harry nodded uncertainly, just now noticing that her lightsaber was different than he remembered. “Well, the thing is. I already did.”

With that, Alema pressed on a hidden button under her pinkie while holding her lightsaber horizontal to the ground. Another silver blade came out of the bottom and that was when Harry noticed that her lightsaber was slightly longer than he remembered, still within the range of a normal lightsaber but someone observant would notice it was a bit too long for a girl her size even if she used two hands.

Now Harry realized that it was because she had changed it into a double-bladed lightsaber, though one with only a slightly longer than average hilt instead of the double the length normal saberstaff used by most.

Wary now and wondering just how she got good enough to wield a saberstaff and just how her style changed with one, Harry cautiously sent a jab or two in her direction.

Harry figured out her new style when she started twirling her lightsabers in circles, so fast that it created a near impenetrable lightsaber barrier. Jabbing and sending blows at her, Alema simply redirected them to the side before trying to counterattack, causing Harry to retreat to avoid them.

Harry finally knew what it felt like to fight an opponent with a trick or style he simply didn't have a ready answer to. Every strike or slash he sent at her was easily redirected and she would quickly counterattack, causing him retreat to avoid being hit and losing the spar.

However, as time passed Harry realized something. While her defense was impressive, she had not taken the offensive since she activated her second blade. Harry purposefully left an opening or two without sending a strike only for Alema to ignore it, maintaining her distance and only moving to redirect his strikes.

It was then he realized that while she had a powerful defense, she hadn't learned how to maintain the offensive. She probably relied on defense combined with counterattacks and maybe a bit of Force abilities to beat her opponents. Against Ataru users it would be a devastating strategy since they would quickly tire themselves out while her proficiency with Soresu would allow her to outlast them. She had probably created the style from constant spars with her sister, who was primarily an Ataru user.

However, Harry was a Makashi user and quickly saw a way to win. Without a way to maintain the offensive, Harry could simply outlast her. While Soresu was energy efficient, Makashi relied on economy of motion so that no motion or energy was wasted and everything flowed into each other. If he simply kept up the Makashi offensive, he would quickly outlast her since she'd waste energy on the saber barrier which was the only way she could defend against his more precise jabs and cuts.

However, there was always a slight chance that she'd either outlast him or manage to get in a good counterattack while he was focused on maintaining the offensive. If that happened, he had no doubt that it would hurt and not just his pride.

Another way was simply overpowering her. Studying her body (and what a body it was), he saw that she wouldn't have the upper body strength to resist his power blows. It was for this reason that she redirected and deflected rather than block them head-on. She had probably gotten that idea from his Makashi and he couldn't help but feel a bit flattered that she had copied part of Makashi's form to her own style.

However, the second option also had the danger of him running out of juice before he broke through her defense. The upside was that if she tried to block a strike straight on he'd be sure to overpower her.

Deciding to go with the second option, Harry grabbed his lightsaber with both hands and started to rain down powerful blows on her defensive screen. Alema desperately redirected and deflected the blows, trying to counterattack but finding no opening she could take. Eventually, Harry blade-locked with her, overpowering her as she tried to keep up her defense.

Suddenly, she smirked and thrust out her hand at him. Harry's eyes widened as he flew backwards with a strong Force push, caught off guard by not only her usage of it but how strong it was. Harry backflipped into a recovery but was caught off guard when he found Alema had followed after him in a spinning leap.

Now, Harry was the one on the defensive, protecting himself from a surprising offensive barrage from her double-bladed lightsaber that he'd thought she couldn't launch. He recognized the form as a sort of bastardized Ataru form made to account for her double-bladed lightsaber and was once again impressed. She'd really found her niche in lightsaber combat.

However, eventually the duel came to an end when Harry found an opening and kicked her in the chest, sending her flying back through the air. He leaped after her and when she tried to defend from the floor, Harry instead hit her right hand which was holding her saber.

She let go with a yelp of pain, and Harry easily disarmed her now that she was only holding it with one hand, ending the duel.

However, before Harry could speak, Alema kicked his knee, causing him to buckle from the surprising hit and fall to his knees. From there, Alema brutally kicked his right hand which was holding his saber, causing him to drop it.

The two then rolled along the floor, trying to gain the advantage. With surprisingly flexibility, Alema twisted her hips so she caught Harry's head between her thighs and with a grunt of exertion, threw him onto the floor.

Alema then grabbed his hands and held them out while smiling down at him. “My win.”

Harry could only stare at her in shock for a moment before he started to laugh. “Where the hell did you learn all that?! And that was totally my win until you went all native on me.”

Alema just smirked at him as she let go of his hands and sat down on his chest. “It's not over till I say its, first of all. And second, some of that I'd actually been working on since before I built my lightsaber. I just kept it secret until I'd worked it out so I had a surprise in duels against people who knew my previous style. A girl has to have her secrets after all.”

Harry chuckled at her words. “Well, it worked and it kept me off-balance long enough for you to win. Every time I thought I had you figured out you pulled something else out of your ass. Not a bad style. Lure your enemy into thinking one thing before surprising them with something else.”

Alema smiled proudly before her smile turned predatory. “And what's my reward for being the first Jedi our age to beat you?”

Harry gulped as he realized that at some point she'd moved down his chest so their privates were rubbing up against each other. Harry tried to hold in a moan when Alema started to rub herself against him. His hands instantly flew to her hips though he didn't know whether it was to stop her or help her.

“Alema-”

Harry's attempt to tell her to stop was cut off when she shoved her tongue down his throat. Alema moaned as she kissed him deeply, rubbing herself against him at the same time.

Harry couldn't help but return the kiss, mentally comparing hers with Numa's. While Numa's had been chaste and sweet with a sort of slow-burning burn behind it, Alema's was passionate and exciting, her tongue almost raping his mouth in her excitement.

Eventually, Alema broke the kiss and gave Harry a surprisingly vulnerable look. “I like you. I mean... I really like you, Harry. Do you like me?”

Harry's first instinct was to say no and tell her about him and Numa but he paused. First, he did not want to tell her about that while she was in position to knee his nuts. He doubted he would take the fact that he'd just kissed her sister not ten hours ago well. Second, as he thought about it he studied Alema. 

Like he'd thought about Numa last night, Alema was extremely beautiful. Not only physically (which she was extremely so) but as a person. Most people would see her as a stereotypical airhead blonde (though she wasn't blonde in any way but you get the point). However, Harry had spent more time with her than most and knew that beneath that front was a surprisingly deep girl. Her showing of previously unknown lightsaber skills and abilities showed that.

Also, while he was a bit closer to Numa, he was also very close to Alema and would often spend time with her just goofing off or training. She could be surprisingly insightful at times and see things that others sometimes missed.

All in all, if Harry was honest with himself, he had to admit that he DID like her. And as more than a friend. 

“Yeah, I do,” admitted Harry quietly. 'The problem is of course that I also like your sister as more than a friend,' thought Harry to himself.

However, before Harry could tell her this (even if he risked getting kneed by an angry Twi'lek girl), she kissed him again. When he didn't respond, she stopped and looked at him with hurt in her eyes.

“What's wrong? Is there... someone else?”

“It's.... complicated,” finished Harry lamely. “I'm actually not sure what me and this other girl are and I don't want to lead either of you on.”

Okay, it might be slightly cowardly to not tell her it was her sister but give him a break. He did NOT want to be kneed.

Alema looked slightly put out but a determined look crossed her face. “Fine but I'm going to fight for you. So whoever this whore is had better be ready for one hell of a fight.”

Alema then gave him another scorching kiss that got his loins stirring before breaking it and speaking to him an almost purr. “Something to remember me by and give you a hint of what you could have.”

Harry shuddered as Alema pressed against him once more before getting off him, collecting her lightsaber and leaving the training ground with a wink and a blown kiss in his direction.

Harry was left lying on the floor, his mind going in circles and wondering what the hell just happened. However, he could conclude one thing from his interaction with Alema.

“Why is my life so complicated?!”

* * *

**Jedi Padawan rooms, Jedi Praxeum, Yavin 4**

Alema was humming happily to herself with a wide smile on her face as she skipped through the Praxeum, passing students giving her strange looks that she paid no mind to. Eventually, she reached the corridor with her room and headed toward her sister's room.

Knocking on the door, Alema waited impatiently as Numa walked over and opened the door. “Alema?” She saw Alema's dirty and disheveled clothing and frowned, gesturing her inside. “Where have you been? I woke up and you were gone.”

“Well, you were sleeping in so I went to have that spar with Harry I asked him for yesterday,” responded Alema as she walked into the room.

Numa frowned before a look of remembrance crossed her face. “Oh right! So how did it go?”

Alema turned to her sister with a wide smile on her face. “I won!”

Numa blinked in surprise but hugged her sister happily. “That's great! I know how hard you were working on your style this past month and it's good to see it paid off!”

“Thanks,” said Alema as she hugged her back. “It wasn't easy but I won in the end though I might have done some underhanded things to win.”

Numa looked at her sister half in amusement and half in fear. “You didn't, like... flash him or anything right?”

Alema playfully slapped her sister on the shoulder at her comment. “Of course not! What kind of girl do you think I am?!” Then she smiled mischievously at her sister. “I wouldn't my future boyfriend to get a sneak preview beforehand, would I?”

Alema had turned to lay down on Numa's bed so she missed the alarmed look that crossed her face. “Future boyfriend? What do you mean?”

Alema sat up on her elbows and frowned at her sister. “What do you mean what do I mean? I told you like weeks ago that I like Harry and was planning on making my move soon. Don't your remember?”

Numa carefully sat in her desk's chair so her back was to Alema as she pretended to look at something on the desk. “I thought it was just another crush. You know, like that boy we met on Coruscant.”

Alema shrugged and laid back down on the bed. “Zekk was cute but I was only teasing him. He looked so cute with the way he ogled us. I think we were the first Twi'leks he'd ever seen or something. But Harry,” Alema's voice took on a wistful tone. “Harry is different. He doesn't treat me like some sex object like a lot of boys we know do and he respects me as a person, even before I showed him my skills with a lightsaber. He always valued my opinions and treated me as an equal even when he was so far ahead of us in class. How could I not fall for him?”

Numa smiled sadly since those were the very reasons she had fallen for him. Harry was always so kind, compassionate and at times, downright wise while still maintaining an air of masculinity. He and her had had many talks like the one they'd had last night before and he'd helped her through some of the things she couldn't talk to with her Master or sister. She'd fallen hard and fast for him even if she hid it better than her sister did. While she'd known that her sister also had a crush on him, she'd thought it was just a passing thing like the crush she'd had on older mechanic they'd met once when they were younger.

Yet it was clear that it wasn't a passing thing and whether her sister knew it or not, they were now competing for the same man. But first she needed to know one thing. “Did he kiss you back?” Turning to Alema who was looking at her in curiosity. “Harry. Did he kiss you back?”

“Yeah!” assured Alema before a confused look crossed her face. “Well, yes and no. He responded the first time when I surprised him but the second he didn't.” She scowled. “Apparently, there's another girl or something in the picture and he doesn't want to lead either of us on.” A contemplative look crossed her face. “Do you think it's that Solo girl? He's certainly close to her.”

“I don't know.” Numa had turned back to the desk so Alema wouldn't see the ecstatic smile that crossed her face at the fact that Harry had actually resisted Alema's advances for her despite them not being anything official. It meant she still had a chance though she felt terrible for competing against her sister of all people. “I don't think so but maybe.”

“Well, whatever,” said Alema with a shrug. “I have the advantage anyway since I'm going to be spending more time with him and I have help.”

“Help?” asked Numa with a hint of fear. Did she have some older woman giving her tips or something?

“You, of course!” said Alema with a roll of her eyes. “I want to make some modifications to my saber so I asked him if I could join you two in your little sessions. He said it was okay so I can use those times to get closer to him. You'll help me right?”

'No!' was what Numa wanted to say. 'No, I WON'T help you steal MY man!' But she knew that she couldn't. Not only would it cause a rift between them but Numa was never as sensual or flirtatious as Alema. If Alema knew she was the competition and actively competed against her, Numa was afraid she'd lose. While Numa wasn't lacking in confidence in her looks, she wasn't as open about it as Alema was. Alema would often wear seductive clothing to distract their target and knew how to entice without looking slutty. Numa had to be coached by Alema when she had to do the same and she simply didn't feel as comfortable in it as she did.

No. Right now, her only edge was that Alema didn't know she was the competition. It might sound cruel and manipulative but all was fair in love and war and this was definitely both.

“Sure,” lied Numa through her teeth, being careful to not show any indication of it through the Force. “I'll try my best to help you. Don't worry.”

“Thank you!” yelled Alema happily as she bounced off the bed and hugged Numa tightly. “You're the best sister anyone could ask for and if you ever need help getting a guy I promise to help you no matter what!”

Numa instantly felt guilty for what she was doing but forced a smile and listened as Alema babbled on about how good a kisser Harry had been, trying not to comment about how she'd actually taught him this or that trick last night.

The entire time Numa wondered if she was doing the right thing and whether this would blow up in her face or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And there's chapter 8!
> 
> Okay, writing this chapter took me a LONG time. The original idea was to write the mission to Outbound Flight that's mentioned in Luke and Mara's wiki. However, it became.... tedious after a while. I simply couldn't find the inspiration cause it felt like I was literally ripping off another writer's work by simply copying the mission down and just adding Harry to it. After the initial part where Luke talks to Harry about his lightsaber combat style (which is shown in this chapter in a flashback), my momentum came to a halt. I simply couldn't find the inspiration.
> 
> So I eventually dropped that idea and simply wrote about the effects of the mission and time directly afterwards. I think only one reviewer noticed what was wrong with Harry's training style last chapter and I did that on purpose. It was explained in the flashback by Luke why Harry's training style was having so little progress. It's the same reason Niman takes ten years to master. There are simply too many factors one needs to train at once and progress is slow because of that. It's like trying to do twenty things at once. Progress in completing any of them becomes incredibly slow.
> 
> The different types of duelists are my own creation and thoughts as to the different types of duelists shown in the SW saga. The moderates are people like Exar Kun and (in my fic) Alema Rar. They aren't a master of any one trick but they have a lot of them to keep the opponent off-balance and be prepared for almost any situation. It gives them an edge other duelists don't have.
> 
> Specialists are people like Count Dooku who stubbornly stick to a single form to the expense of all others. They reach levels of pure technique and skill other types of duelists probably never will but are plagued by the weaknesses of their chosen form. Count Dooku may have overcome Makashi's weakness to blast deflection and multiple opponents through dint of sheer experience and skill but he still fell prey to Makashi's weakness of lack of kinetic energy. Which is what killed him in the end.
> 
> Additions are people like Obi-Wan. His style was NOT pure Soresu. He added elements of Ataru to it to create the style he eventually got by the time he face Dooku the final time which had Soresu tight defense but Ataru's incredible speed. It also gave him a way to maintain an offense instead of being strictly defensive. Sure, his primary form was Soresu but it wasn't the only element of his style.
> 
> Also, I'm divided between going with my original idea of having Harry master Vaapad or simply making him a Makashi specialist who's also competent in the other forms enough to add elements of them to his style. I'm going to put up a poll as to which you think would be better. The options won't just be Makashi and Vaapad. There will be others as well a choice to send me a PM with your own idea. Just remember my thoughts that style that have too many forms mixed in take over a decade to learn. Remember, Mace Windu was a master of all the forms and created Vaapad but it took him till he was in his 30s to do that. Harry does not have that kind of time before the Yuuzhan Vong War starts.
> 
> As always, Read and Review!


	9. The Jensaarai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter 9**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Beta'ed by NIX'S WARDEN

**Nar Shaddaa market, Corellian Sector, Nar Shaddaa, late 22 ABY**

The market of Nar Shaddaa, always a slightly dangerous place to be, was suddenly turned into chaos when a man ran straight through it, pushing people aside as to escape his pursuer. Being people of... less reputable backgrounds, the people of the market immediately thought it was the authorities and tried to escape with their ill-gotten goods, further adding to the chaos.

Eventually, the pursuer turned the corner, revealing himself to be none other than an annoyed fourteen year old Harry Potter. He had been chasing after this particular man for over ten minutes and he was seriously considering just Force gripping the man and being done with it.

It had been two months since the Taris mission and since then, many more Jedi had reported similar kidnappings and missing children on other planets. Realizing that this was not a one-time thing, the Jedi had focused their efforts on looking for clues into who could be behind the kidnappings of the children on Taris and the other planets reporting similar things. Since Harry and his mother were the ones who originally discovered it, they were usually the ones sent on missions related to it.

Mother and son had come to Nar Shaddaa on a rumor that a smuggler calling himself “Ace” might know something of the kidnappings. They were given a description and left toward the Smuggler's Moon to capture him. They had managed to land without attracting attention (another plus of piloting Harry's ship, a freighter with obvious illegal modifications, rather than Mara's rather noticeable ship) and quickly found that “Ace” liked to spend time in the Meltdown Cafe, a popular restaurant among bounty hunters in the Corellian Sector.

Things had been fine until a few men tried to get fresh with Mara. She had quickly changed their minds – violently. Unfortunately, this alerted their target of their presence and he had quickly ran for it. Harry was quick to give chase but Mara had simply disappeared, leaving him alone in capturing the man.

Seeing that chasing him on the ground was going nowhere, Harry jumped to the roofs and followed from there, the viewpoint and lack of traffic giving him the chance to close the gap between them.

Down on street level, Ace looked behind him only to not see his persistent pursuer. This caused him to slow down, thinking he had lost the little twerp at last.

Such thoughts were violently taken from his mind when Harry jumped from the rooftops right on top of him. Harry roughly smashed the man's face against the floor before putting Ace's hands behind his back and into stun cuffs. This was one of the times that Harry was glad for his mother's paranoia in making him carry dozens of different restraints for any situation.

“Well, I've got him,” said an exasperated Harry out loud. “Now where's my mother?”

“Behind you,” said his mother's amused voice from behind him.

Turning around, Harry saw none other than Mara Jade Skywalker, calmly drinking what looked like a flameout, looking for all the world as if she was just taking a walk through the park. She looked around unconcernedly though she did give a few of the more forward men looking at her a dangerous glare which caused them to back off in a hurry.

“And where were you when I needed you?” asked Harry in exasperation. Not that it had been hard to take down the guy but still! It would have been a heck of a lot easier if she had helped.

“I was talking to my new friend here,” said Mara pointing to a dirty man standing beside her. “Harry, this is Dig.”

“Hello,” said Dig with a wide smile as he made no effort to move his eyes from where they were firmly attached to his mother's assets. The act made Harry's hand twitch toward his lightsaber but he refrained from cutting the man to pieces.

Killing men for ogling your mother is not the Jedi way.

Telling Dad and having him cut the bastard to pieces, however, is.

“Dig, can you tell them what you told me just now?” asked Mara in a flirty tone.

“Oh, yea,” said Dig, finally tearing his eyes from Mara's breasts. “The people who hired Ace were really weird. Walking around with lightsabers and all in black. Thought they were normal Jedi like you two but then I overheard them talking about a 'Shadow Academy'. Last I'd heard you guys were on Yavin 4 not this 'Shadow Academy'. Sounded like bad news to me so I split real quick if you know what I mean. Got enough trouble with the authorities not to get mixed up with guys like that.” 

“Yep, that's right,” said Mara agreeably. “Well, unfortunately I got to go but here. Take this and buy yourself a lot of drinks on me.”

After giving him what seemed like 3,000 credits. Mara turned to a dumbfounded Harry. “What?” asked Mara innocently.

“You mean to tell me I chased this idiot,” said Harry pointing at Ace, “over most of the Corellian Sector just for you to find the information from some dirty old man you met in the bar?!”

“Basically, yea,” said Mara nonchalantly, making no effort to hide the amusement in her eyes.

Harry groaned. “Let's just go before I decide to cut Dig to pieces for ogling you.”

Mara just laughed and led Harry back to the ship, leaving the disgruntled and angry Ace tied up on the floor where he was robbed of everything he had on him by passerbys.

Just another day on the Smuggler's Moon.

* * *

**Jedi Praxeum, Yavin 4**

Harry and Mara had quickly returned to the Praxeum after doing one more sweep for any more information. Finding nothing, they had returned to tell Luke about their findings.

“Well, that's interesting,” said Luke thoughtfully, looking for all the world as if someone told him it was going to rain tomorrow.

“Interesting?” asked Harry incredulously. “We find confirmation of people with lightsabers kidnapping kids and all you can say is interesting?”

“Yes, because it confirms what we feared,” explained Luke patiently, years of raising Harry helping him ignore his son's attitude. “There's an Academy to the dark side out there.”

Everyone had grim looks at his proclamation and for good reason. The fact that there was another academy out there, but dedicated to the dark side all but assured that someday there would be a confrontation with them. With the Jedi spread out across the galaxy, the Praxeum could hardly stand up to a full assault of Dark Jedi if their numbers were what they feared. If it came to pure numbers then they would be overrun.

“What do we do now?” asked Harry hesitantly. To be truthful, the idea of facing Dark Jedi wasn't one he relished. While he had gotten his confidence back at the Outbound Flight mission, he wasn't so arrogant as to think he was unbeatable. There was no telling how strong these Dark Jedi were and while he didn't fear dying, per se, he also didn't look for it either. Especially if it endangered his loved ones as well.

“We shall continue to investigate this while you have other missions,” said Luke, emphasizing that they were to do nothing.

“But Dad-” started Harry.

“No Harry,” interrupted Luke, “this is dangerous and I have an idea of who might be in charge of this Academy. As good as you are, you aren't ready yet. Soon but not yet. You still need to finish your training and polish the skills you know. Remember, the basic are the foundation you build on before moving to greater things. Polish the skills you have before attempting to learn more.”

Harry frowned but nodded in agreement. To be perfectly blunt, Harry knew he had his work cut out for him. Ever since his talk with his dad after the Outbound Flight mission, Harry had worked on mastering the basics before trying anything advanced. In that vain he'd been working on his telekinesis to make it more precise and easier to use both in battle and outside. His little spar with Alema had shown him that he still hadn't mastered using Force abilities in combat, quickly and efficiently and so had dedicated himself to that. Following his father's advice to work on his strengths before trying to cover his weaknesses, he'd also started to meditate with his father to work on his farsight and perception both in battle and out.

For lightsaber combat, after his father's embarrassing chastisement into Harry's attempt to add elements of other lightsaber forms into his own, Harry had decided to re-plan his lightsaber training. He had started to learn more advanced Makashi maneuvers and techniques from Dooku's Gatekeeper himself which was extremely difficult. Dooku was a perfectionist and his Gatekeeper emulated that, chastising even the slightest mistake and making him start again from scratch. It had been humbling but very helpful in helping him learn where he had gotten sloppy in his executions and needed to relearn them.

To cover for Makashi's weaknesses, Harry was learning Shii-Cho. The two forms covered each other's weaknesses since where Makashi was weak against multiple opponents and blasterfire, Shii-Cho was specialized against multiple opponents and blast deflection. And where Shii-Cho was weak against single opponents and had no precision, Makashi came into play.

It gave Harry a form to use against almost any situation and gave Harry a better appreciation for his father's wisdom. His telling him that he was getting ahead of himself and trying to incorporate maneuvers of forms he hadn't mastered was painfully true. His addition of those maneuvers had always been clumsy at best due to not knowing the form well and it was only his own adaptability that caused him to advance as far as he did in his self-made training.

His father's words were proven true when, after two weeks of non-stop training in advanced Makashi and Shi-Cho, he had passed an entire training session without a scratch. It had elated Harry greatly but instead of simply moving on as he would have before, he continued to go through the same training session until he could pass it without trouble.

“Okay, okay,” grumbled Harry, conceding his father's point.

Luke smiled at his son and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Don't worry. We won't cut you out. The next mission related to Shadow Academy will be sent to you and Mara, okay?” Seeing Harry smile, Luke waved a hand in the direction of the door. “Now get out of here. No doubt your friends miss you so you should go catch up.”

Harry smiled and after saying goodbyes with his mom, he walked toward his friends' rooms hoping to catch up with them. With the back to back missions lately, he hadn't gotten a chance to see them in a while and he wanted to catch up. When he reached their hallway, he knocked on each of their doors but only Klin-Fa answered though he was surprised to see Tenel Ka in the room as well.

After apologizing for his actions and attitude, Klin-Fa had quickly forgiven him and the two had caught each other up on what the other had been doing. Harry had been surprised, but glad to hear that Klin-Fa had gotten a Master and congratulated her on it. Her Master seemed to prefer missions that took no longer than a day or two so Klin-Fa was at the Academy more often than even him.

“They are in the hangar,” explained Klin-Fa after Harry asked where the others were. “Lowie was gifted a T-23 skyhopper, albeit in parts, by his uncle Chewie and they are there assembling it. I'm helping Tenel Ka with her meditation since she's been having some trouble and we're alike so I thought my way of meditation would be easier for her to grasp.”

“Cool,” said Harry with a smile. “Do you know if Numa and Alema are back? They left for their mission before even me so I'd thought they'd be back by now.”

The situation with Harry and the twins after his kissing both of them (separately) had been..... complicated. Numa had made him swear not to tell Alema about them until she was ready to tell her herself and he reluctantly agreed. He felt it was cruel since he was basically leading Alema on. It didn't help that Numa had taken to making out with him whenever they were alone together and they had almost gotten caught a few times by their friends. It had made for a very stressful and distressing few weeks.

Klin-Fa frowned and shook her head. “Sorry but no. I'll let them know you're looking for them if they do though.”

Harry sighed but smiled in thanks. “Alright. I'll see you guys later then.”

Klin-Fa watched Harry walk towards the hangar before closing the door and turning back to the meditating Tenel Ka. Tenel Ka opened her eyes and looked at her pseudo-teacher in confusion.

“How long does he think he and Numa can hide their relationship? He does know that Alema is already starting to suspect something, right?” asked Tenel Ka curiously.

Klin-Fa snorted. “Of course he doesn't. He and Numa probably think they've hidden their relationship sooo well when almost everyone knows about it. I think only Jaina is oblivious and that's because she's being willfully ignorant.”

Tenel Ka blinked in confusion. “But I thought you said Harry was smart and very empathetic?”

“Yes,” agreed Klin-Fa agreeably. “But you have to remember.... he's a boy.”

“Ah, yes,” Tenel Ka nodded as if having been told a great secret. “I had forgotten.”

Back with Harry, he was on the way to the hanger when he ran into Raynar Thul. Raynar hadn't changed in the time since they started the Academy. He was still pretentious and believed that he was better than anyone, even Harry. In his words, Harry only built his lightsaber first because his adopted father was Luke Skywalker. He ignored all the times Harry beat him in almost everything as luck.

“Out of the way, loser,” sneered Raynar. 

“The words you're looking for are 'excuse me',” said Harry through gritted teeth. Usually he ignored anything Raynar said but the exhaustion from the trip had made him irritable and he didn't have time for Raynar's rudeness.

“Like I need to excuse myself to someone who still clings to his father's cloak,” said Raynar spitefully as he roughly pushed past Harry without excusing himself.

“Whatever,” muttered Harry under his breath. He tried to ignore Raynar's comment without much success but shook it off and continued on his way. When he got to the hangar, he saw the cordoned off area the twins and Lowie were using. He must have missed it when they landed.

“Hey guys,” said Harry happily as he walked over.

“Hey Harry!” returned Jaina happily when she saw him approach.

Jaina, in his opinion, had only grown better-looking since she and her brothers joined the Academy. All the training had made her trim and made sure she had no extra “puppy fat”. She was about an inch shorter than him now after her growth spurt and now wore her hair a bit longer. Other than that, Jaina hadn't changed a bit. To others, she was still the tomboy who loved to pilot and knew more about mechanics than boys two years older than her. To Harry, she was the girl trying to find her niche in the galaxy. A place where she shined for being her and not for who she was related to.

“What's up Harry?” asked Jacen cheerfully from his spot helping Lowie with the ship.

Jacen hadn't changed much either other than get taller. He still had the same short brown hair and lanky figure except he had more muscle on him. His affinity with animals had grown in the time spent in the Academy. He could calm most animals instantly and even befriended dangerous carnivores.

Lowbacca greeted him as well before returning to finishing his ship. Lowie had arrived a little over a month ago and while Harry didn't know him well, they got along well enough. He was a ginger-haired wookie with slight streaks of black here and there that were almost unnoticeable. Harry wasn't any good at telling a Wookie's age despite having basically lived with one for seven years so he didn't know Lowie's exact age but he guessed he was around Jacen and Jaina's in terms of wookie maturity at least. 

Looking over the ship they were working on, Harry had to admit that it was beautiful in a way. Its design was simple but its beauty lay in its simplicity. Despite that, Harry knew that Lowie would love his ship even if it had been uglier than sin since it was his first. A pilot always loved his ship but his first ship would always be more special than the rest. Force knows no ship will ever replace the Wayward Son in Harry's heart no matter what happened to it.

“You staying longer than just two days this time, I hope?” teased Jaina, trying to hide her sad tone.

Between normal missions plus tracking down information on this now revealed “Shadow Academy”, Harry had barely been able to stay at the Academy for long. However, he made sure that when he was there he would make time for all his friends and especially Jaina. 

“Yep, if it's up to me I'm not leaving for at least a week this time so don't worry,” assured Harry.

Jaina instantly brightened and started to explain to Harry about all the different parts that made up the ship. Harry tied to ignore the shiver that went up his spine when she grabbed his hand and didn't let go even after dragging him to see the ship. Jacen didn't notice and excitedly explained all the new creatures they'd be able to see with it.

He'd hoped that with his new 'not-relationship' with Numa and whatever was developing with Alema, his feelings or... whatever for Jaina would pass. Unfortunately, it seemed as if the galaxy hated him because they didn't. In fact, kissing Numa so often (as well as the stolen kisses from an oblivious Alema) had made him sometimes wonder how kissing Jaina would feel. The fact that he was thinking that when he was technically 'not-dating' Numa and Alema had serious feelings for him made him feel extremely bad at times. Not to mention confused the hell out of him.

Hearing Jacen talk about the different creatures they could see on the moon, Harry turned to him with an amused smile. “Jacen, remember,” said Harry faux seriously, though there was a hint of amusement hidden in his tone. “You can't adopt a pet battle hydra.”

Jacen sulked at Harry's words, noticeably depressed at his declaration. A week ago, Jacen had tried to sneak in a baby battle hydra onto the Wayward Son to put in the cargo area which he was turning into his personal zoo. Unfortunately, he forgot to tell Harry about it so you can imagine Harry's surprise to find a baby battle hydra walking around his ship when he was about to go on a mission. Jacen was just lucky Harry was the one to find it and not Mara. She would have just killed it before asking what a baby battle hydra was doing on the ship.

“But they're just misunderstood,” whined Jacen. 

“No, Jacen,” said Harry firmly. “We had a deal. No animals that grow larger than 6 feet and no carnivores. Mara would have killed that baby battle hydra if you hadn't interfered.”

Jacen winced at the memory. He had learned that day that Mara in protective mode was far scarier than anything he could imagine. He almost felt sorry for any girl who Harry decided to date. Unless the girl was as tough as Aunt Mara or just plain crazy, Aunt Mara would put the fear of the Force in them.

“So, you see Alema or Numa lately?” teased Jacen. Lowbacca chuckled lowly while Jaina screwed a nail into the ship a bit harder than necessary.

It was a bit of a running gag how Harry and Numa thought they were hiding their relationship so well. The only ones oblivious were Alema and Jaina, though the latter noticed that Numa was a bit more touchy than normal and didn't like it.

While most of the group were supportive of the relationship if they ever admitted to it, Jaina was the noticeable exception. She never gave a reason for her dislike beyond just not liking it but the others already suspected it was jealousy. No one had missed the way Harry and Jaina acted around each other though after a subtle inquiry about it to Jaina, they had refrained from asking again. Better for them to figure it out on their own before they started teasing them.

“No,” said Harry ignoring the sound of Jaina hammering something harder than normal. “They left on a mission before I left and haven't come back yet.”

Hearing Jaina basically mauling a piece of the ship at his words, Harry carefully walked up behind Jaina and started to massage her shoulders which caused her to relax. If anyone else tried this they would have gotten socked straight in the face but Jaina and him had always had a connection and she felt comfortable with him doing this.

“Want help?” asked Harry. Seeing Jaina nod, Harry smiled and sat down beside her to help her finish what she was doing.

With Harry helping and making the mood light with his cheery attitude, it didn't take long for the ship to be finished and Lowbacca proudly put in to the last part.

“Dammit, I want my own ship,” muttered a dejected Jaina. She brightened when she remembered something and turned to Harry with a glint in her eye. “Didn't you promise to take me scavenging when you had the time?”

Harry blinked before remembering the conversation they had two months ago. “Oh yeah! Well, we'll ask Dad for permission to look around. We should be able to find something easily enough. After all, there was a battle in the atmosphere here as recent as a decade ago. There may be some ships that crashed in the jungle somewhere. Force knows there's a lot of secrets on this moon.” 

Harry was referring to Anakin's recent adventure with the Golden Globe. While everything turned out alright, it showed Harry that there were secrets even in the known worlds and one could never be too careful. Master Ikrit often helped Harry when he was practicing his Force techniques. Another reason for the invitation was to spend more time alone with Jaina. Harry still wasn't sure about his feelings but it was becoming increasingly obvious that they weren't just platonic in nature. But besides that, he'd missed just hanging out with his best friend and a day scavenging ships sounded like a lot of fun.

“That's true!” said Jaina brightly. “Come on, let's go see if we can find one!”

“Jaina,” said Harry holding her back. “Maybe we should let Lowie pilot his ship the first time alone. Wouldn't you want to make the first time you piloted your first ship special?”

Jaina pouted but conceded the point. Lowie said he would fly it first thing tomorrow afternoon since it was already late. 

Saying their goodnights once they reached their rooms, they turned in for the night.

* * *

**Harry's room, Jedi Praxeum, Two days later, 6:00am**

Harry had stayed up late last night working on his FAITH holodroid project and so had planned to sleep in today. However, such plans were dashed when the door to his room silently opened and a shadow quietly sneaked into the room, closing and locking the door behind her.

The shadow slowly approached Harry's sleeping form, being careful not to make a sound before reaching the bed. Ever so slowly, the shadow crawled into the bed beside the heavily sleeping Harry, curling up against his right side before starting to lay kisses along his neck.

The feeling slowly awoke Harry from his slumber and he blearily blinked his eyes before moaning when the person kissed a particularly sensitive spot on his neck. For a moment, Harry panicked, wondering who was in bed with him before a familiar voice whispered in his ear.

“Hey, Harry,” came the soft voice of his secret girlfriend, Numa. “It's me.”

Harry turned and sure enough, there was Numa laying in bed with him with a light blush on her face. “Numa? What are you doing here?”

Numa blushed more deeply and curled up against him as he wrapped his right arm around to draw her closer. “We just got in two hours ago and I waited till Alema was asleep before coming to see you. I missed you and we haven't had time by ourselves in over a week. So I thought I'd surprise you and visit you at night.” Her blush deepened as she gave him a coy smile. “Do you like what I'm wearing?”

Harry blinked and felt himself harden when he realized what she was wearing. Numa was wearing a pair of sexy light blue lingerie a shade lighter than her skin and looked about a size too small. It fit her like a glove and Harry could clearly see her nipple through the material though her bottom half seemed to successfully cover anything private from being seen.

The entire ensemble aroused Harry greatly and he gulped as he held himself back from ravaging her. “It's.... by the Force!”

Numa giggled at his quiet exclamation, pleased by his reaction. “I'm glad you like it. I bought it for you. I was wondering....” here she blushed heavily. “... if we can maybe go a little farther than we have before. Not all the way but... you know, maybe touch each other a bit more?”

Harry gulped and nodded, trying not to seem too eager. “That's... okay.”

Numa bit her lip nervously and decided to start with what they knew. She kissed him passionately, which Harry easily reciprocated. Slowly the two started to explore each other's body, touching area that they'd previously considered off limits. Harry's hand dropped to her behind and gave it a gentle squeeze, getting her to moan slightly into the kiss. In response, Numa hands drifted down and started to rub his abs, making him giggle slightly at the ticklish sensation.

Numa smiled at the reaction and made a mental note to explore that at a later date. For now, Numa nervously continued south and placed a hand on Harry's arousal. Harry paused at the sensation and moaned as she started to rub it through his boxers. In response, Harry's hand drifted from her behind to her front and started to rub her through her panties.

Numa moaned at the feeling, increasing her own rubbing of Harry's arousal in response. They continued like that for a few moments before the awkward position made it impossible to really get off. Heavily aroused and wanting to get off, Numa rolled on top of Harry and started to directly rub Harry's arousal with her own sex through their underwear.

Harry cursed quietly at the feeling and thrust back up at her in time with her own gyrations, Numa's eyes clouded with lust and pleasure as the two thrust against each other to climax.

Numa was the first to reach it, stopping herself from crying out in ecstasy by kissing Harry deeply. The feeling of Numa's wetness against him also threw him over the edge and Harry came in his boxers with a deep groan of relief. The two teenagers froze as they went through their respective climaxes before Numa fell boneless on top of Harry, panting deeply much like Harry was.

Harry gently rubbed Numa's lekku, getting a purr of approval from the girl as she crawled up and kissed him deeply. The kiss was different from previous ones. Still as passionate as before but with deeper undertone showing they'd taken a step forward in their relationship.

Numa looked down into Harry's eyes and smiled. “I like you, Harry. I really, really like you and I want to be with you. In the open and not in secret, hiding from everyone.”

Harry smiled sadly up at her. “Then we'll have to tell Alema about us. That promises to be an interesting conversation.”

Numa sighed and collapsed onto his chest. “Yeah. She will not be happy but.... I'm not going to give you up to her just because she throws a tantrum.” She cuddled into his chest and whispered. “Can I stay here tonight?”

Harry smiled sleepily and nodded with a yawn. “Sure. You can stay here as long as you like.”

With that, the two lovers drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Harry's room, Jedi Praxeum, two hours later**

Harry was slowly brought back to the waking world by the sound of someone knocking on his door. He looked down when he felt a weight on his chest and smiled when he saw Numa sleeping there. She looked so cute with her face on his chest, curling up to him for warmth. And her choice of sleepwear definitely helped him wake up.

However, his happiness was doused in cold water when the person at the door spoke.

“Harry?” came Alema's curious voice. “Hurry up and wake up! We have a mission!”

“I-I'm coming!” responded Harry in a panic. Then again, why wouldn't he panic when he had the girl's sister asleep wearing only lingerie on his bed with her panties wet from her climax last night. No matter how you tried to interpret it, this looked extremely bad and it was made only worse by the fact that Alema did not know about them.

Shaking Numa awake, Harry made a shushing motion before pointing at the door. “I'll be right there, Alema!”

At that, Numa was instantly wide awake and looking at the door in panic. She wrapped herself in the bed covers and looked around as if trying to find somewhere to hide. Harry gestured to the bathroom and Numa instantly ran for it, taking the bed covers with her to protect her modesty.

“Give me a sec, Alema!” called out Harry as he put on some pants before going to open the door.

Standing outside was a mildly annoyed Alema who instantly smiled as she saw his shirtless form. “Well, well, if I knew this is how you greet your guests in the morning I would have come to wake you more often.”

Harry couldn't but roll his eyes at Alema's predictable flirtatious comment and looked her up and down. “Hark who's talking. That outfit of yours may cover most of your skin but it still entices anyone looking.”

It was true. Alema was wearing her, by now, usual black outfit that was partially open in the front to reveal some cleavage. Despite the fact that it technically covered a lot of skin, it was still tight enough to her skin that it showed almost every curve.

Alema just smirked and slowly turned around, showing off her curves and causing Harry to gulp. “You know you like it. But anyway, we have a mission and we need to meet in the Grand Audience Chamber with the Masters.”

“Alright then,” said Harry easily. “Just let me get dressed.” But before he could close the door, Alema spoke.

“By the way, have you seen Numa?” Harry froze at her question and forced a casual look of curiosity on his face. “I went to her room but she wasn't there.”

“Ugh, no. Maybe she went for an early morning run or something,” said Harry calmly while on the inside he was anything but. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Numa peeking out of the corner of the bathroom, looking equally panicked as he felt inside.

Alema looked annoyed but just sighed. “Then I guess I'll go look for her. See you at the Chamber, Harry.”

“Bye.” After he saw her turn the corner out of the corridor, Harry closed and locked the door behind him and let out a sigh of relief as Numa walked back into the room.

“That was close,” said Numa quietly.

“Too close,” retorted Harry. Seeing her flinch he sighed and drew her into a hug which she returned. “We need to tell her. We can't keep hiding this forever.”

Numa stiffened and then sagged in resignation. “I know. Just... let me be the one to do it. I'll tell her after this mission. Okay?”

“Okay,” agreed Harry easily. The two shared a kiss before Numa opened the door, checked to make sure the coast was clear before running toward her room.

Sighing to himself, Harry closed the door behind her and went to the bathroom to take a bath and change. After he did so, he decided to tell at least Jaina of where he was going so she could tell the others later.

Making sure he had everything, Harry walked over to Jaina's room before knocking on the door. After a few minutes of shuffling being heard on the other side, Jaina opened the door. 

“Harry, I thought you were going to sleep in. What are you doing up so early? Not overtraining again I hope,” grumbled Jaina sleepily.

Harry chuckled and explained, “No, sky princess, I'm not going training. Just wanted to say bye cause there's been an emergency and I'll probably have to go on a mission.”

“But you just got here two days ago!” whined Jaina. “You promised to help me with my saber technique today!”

“I know,” said Harry softly. “I promise that when I get back, we'll spend the day together doing whatever you want, even if it's piloting the Son around the planet.”

At that, Jaina cheered up a bit although she still seemed slightly sad. “Okay, but you better get back quick,” grumbled Jaina. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and promised to tell the others.

After Jaina closed the door, Harry left toward the Audience Chamber. Outside of the door to the Audience Chamber, Alema and Numa were waiting. The former looked to be asking the latter where she was in a teasing tone while Numa just ignored her and denied her accusations.

“Come on, Numa!” whined Alema. “You've been acting weird all month! If you have a secret boyfriend, you can tell me! I'm your sister, you're supposed to let me live vicariously through you!”

“It's nothing like that,” denied Numa weakly. Catching sight of Harry, she quickly changed the subject. “Look, Harry's here so we'll talk about this after the mission.”

“You better!” mock-threatened Alema with a smile. Turning to him, Alema smiled. “Hey, Harry. You ready?” At his nod, the three Padawans entered the Audience Chamber.

The mood as they entered the chamber was tense. It felt as if they had just interrupted an argument even though they hadn't heard anything from outside. Harry looked around and saw almost every Master in the Order present (though most were only present as holograms). For a second, Harry felt like he was before the Jedi High Council.

“You called for us Masters?” asked Alema.

With a sigh, Master Luke said, “Yes, we've just received information from the smuggler you captured that necessitates immediate action.”

“It seems that he was part of a group that was going be part of the next raid for Force-sensitives,” said Master Mara.

“What's troubling is who they were going to raid,” said Master Lar Le'Ung.

“Who is it?” asked Harry.

“They are planning on raiding the Jensaarai,” said Master Luke. 

At this, Harry understood the problem. The Jensaarai were originally a splinter group of Jedi founded by (unknowingly to them) the Dark Jedi Nikkos Tyris. Originally, they hated the Jedi because the survivors saw a group of Jedi murder their founder together with his two apprentices. They hadn't known that their founder had fallen to the dark side and they had been unknowingly been learning Sith techniques and powers. Thinking that they were all dead, the Jedi had departed leaving the rest of the group. After the Jedi Purge, they thought themselves free and so had come out of hiding. Only to almost be extinguished by Palpatine and the Empire. A few years ago, Luke and Corran Horn managed to make peace between the Jedi and the Jensaarai (after a battle that almost killed both sides of course). They revealed the truth of what happened and this brought an end to their conflict. 

However, while there was peace between the groups there were still tensions. Some Masters of the Order believe they should be killed due to some of their Sith-based practices. Some Jensaarai also didn't trust the Jedi due to the conflict that had been between the two groups almost since their founding. If the Jensaarai were raided and they found out that the Jedi knew and did nothing... well, the Order would have a new enemy.

“I say we should let them be raided,” said Master Kyp spitefully. “They're basically pseudo-Sith anyway. They'll probably feel right at home.”

“I believe we shouldn't judge someone by their heritage,” interrupted Master Ikrit. “You of all people should know about mistakes, should you not?”

Even through he was a hologram, everyone could see the ruby red flush at the rebuke. Wisely, he stayed silent rather than retort.

“We've agreed that we need to warn them,” said Master Aqinos.

“For that reason, we're sending you three along with Master Katarn,” explained Master Mara.

“Couldn't we just comm them?” asked Harry.

“We could but by sending you all we would be hitting several wombats with one shot,” explained Master Katarn.

“How?” asked Numa questioningly.

“Though there is peace between us, no efforts have been made to demonstrate trust between us,” explained Luke. “For that reason, we're sending you three to not only to help defend them in case of raids but also so you can learn from them.”

“You will stay there for a month. In that time you will learn what they can teach you,” explained Mara. “When you come back, you'll return with a Rodian Jensaarai named Kelbis Nu. He will join the Order as the Jensaarai representative.”

“We only want you to spend a month there because the dark-side practices they follow can be strange to young apprentices such as yourselves,” explained Master Lar Le'Ung. 

“We're sending Master Katarn with you so he can help prevent any corruption that may occur,” finished Luke.

“We're also sending you for another reason,” explained Master Ikrit. 

“Despite my better judgement,” said Master Kyp bitterly, “We are sending you with the dark-side imbued weapons and a few of the extra holocrons we have. Now that we have the Great Holocron, many of them have become redundant. We made copies of them either way though and are sending the originals with you to give to the Jensaarai. The idea is to give them to the Jensaarai as a gesture of good faith and in return they will teach you alchemy.”

Harry couldn't help but frown at Kyp's assertion. It didn't escape his notice that he indirectly stated that his judgment was better than the other Masters. Was there already division among the Masters?

“This will also show our trust in them,” said Master Luke, ignoring Kyp's previous statement. “The fact that we are willing to allow them access to this cache despite previous relations will go a long way. The holocrons only have basic Jedi and Sith techniques that are mostly harmless but they will help the Jensaarai greatly since they told me that don't fully understand what they have and that is why they have so few techniques. The Jedi holocrons we are sending are copies since we hold the originals. Hopefully it will help lead them down the right path.”

Unsaid but understood was that sending Harry, Luke's adopted son, to learn under them would send an even stronger message of trust. Nothing says “I trust you” than to leave your son's safety in their hands.

“Very well, Masters,” said Harry humbly. “Is there anything else?”

“Yes,” said Master Mara. “While there, you are allowed to teach them some things as well.”

“This is another reason why we're sending apprentices to them,” explained Master Lar Le'Ung. “You will not have as much knowledge as a Master or even a Knight so they will be able to understand and assimilate the knowledge easier.”

“Very well,” said Alema. “When do we leave?”

“As soon as possible,” stated Master Luke.

“Understood,” said Harry swiftly. 

The Masters that were there by hologram slowly disappeared leaving only Harry, Alema, Numa, Mara, Luke and Kyle. Master Ikrit had left to his room as soon as the meeting had ended.

“I don't like the idea of sending you into a potential battle-zone,” said Mara in a disgruntled tone. “But I have to trust that you'll be able to take care of yourself.”

“On a more personal note, be careful Harry,” said Luke in a concerned tone. “While they are not evil, they are not wholly good either.”

“I understand, Dad. Trust me,” said Harry.

“Also, you're allowed to take copies of any techniques you're currently studying with you,” said Luke kindly. “I wouldn't want you to fall behind your Jedi studies too.”

Harry grinned at his father before saying his goodbyes (and giving Mara a kiss on the cheek) and leaving toward the hangar.

It took a while to carry all the dark-side imbued weapons onto the Wayward Son but they finally finished in about an hour. Master Kyle turned up soon after (which made Alema and Harry grumble about him having purposefully avoided the heavy lifting) and they all got on the ship. 

“You sure love this ship, don't you Harry?” said Kyle good-naturedly.

“Of course! She's my baby,” said Harry.

Alema and Numa looked at each other and rolled their eyes at that comment. They had heard similar things when they met Han Solo about his own Falcon, so they knew where Harry had picked it up. 

They took off soon after getting clearance and after leaving atmosphere, they blasted off toward Susevfi, home of the Jensaarai.

* * *

**Susevfi, Suarbi system, Quence sector; A few hours later**

They arrived quickly all things considered. After getting clearance, they landed in the city of Yumfla. After Harry checked in the Wayward Son for a two month stay (you could never be too sure) and paid, they walked along the street looking for a bar.

“Why are we looking for a bar?” asked Alema curiously. “Are we going to meet a contact or something there?”

“Why, so I can get a drink of course,” said Kyle in amusement.

The teenagers all rolled their eyes at the statement but let it go as an adult thing that they still didn't understand. When they reached the bar, they found the real reason they were looking for it. It seems that the bar was right in front of a guardpost of Jensaarai. They probably knew that if things are going to start to get rowdy, it'll start in the bar. The group of three moved toward the Jensaarai as soon as they saw them.

“Halt!” said what looked like the leader of the Jensaarai of the guardpost, “State your intentions!”

“We are Jedi, sent from the Jedi Order,” said Kyle diplomatically. “We have urgent news for your Saarai-kar.”

The Jensaarai talked among themselves before agreeing to send one of them to ask the Saarai-kar her opinion. They only had to wait for a few minutes before the scout returned and said that the Saarai-kar had agreed to meet them. He would be their guide.

The group of four Jedi followed him into the sewer system where he lead them in a dizzying turn of rights and lefts that had all three confused before long. That was probably half the reason, mused Harry. They soon reached a code-locked door where the guard punched in the code. There was a beep as the door accepted the code and the door opened.

As they walked down the hall toward the Saarai-kar, Harry couldn't help but look around. It kind of reminded him of the Academy, with children of all ages being taught by Masters (called Defenders in Jensaarai culture). Harry couldn't help but feel that he'd fit right in.

They soon reached the door leading the Saarai-kar and their guide knocked. “Enter,” said a voice from inside.

They entered as instructed and Harry got his first look at the Saarai-kar. She (because it was obvious it was a she) was about 5'8” in height although her armor made her seem much taller. She was completely covered in her armor so it was impossible to determine anything else about her though Harry noticed that unlike the other Jensaarai, her mask was made in the image of what was probably her face instead of an animal. He briefly wondered if she was still as beautiful as the image before shaking it off.

“Greeting, Jedi representatives,” said the Saarai-kar in a clear and concise tone. “May I ask what brought you here? Our relations are not.. as well as they could be.”

“We've come to fix that, milady,” said Kyle humbly. “I bring you these three apprentices, Alema and Numa Rar and Harry Potter Skywalker to learn under your guidance and wisdom for a month. Since you have so graciously allowed one of your own to join the Order and learn from us, we thought we could return the favor.”

The Saarai-kar had looked at Harry when he was introduced. Harry was slightly uncomfortable at the scrutiny but accepted it as due to being Luke's son. How wrong he was.

“Potter?” asked the Saarai-kar curiously. “James' son?”

At this, Harry's eyes went wide. That was the second time he was called James' son. The only other one who knew his birth father's name had been the mysterious Nakia who he hadn't seen again since. Could it be possible that the Saarai-kar knew him as well?

“You knew my birth father?” asked Harry curiously. Beside him, Numa gasped while Alema looked from the Saarai-kar to Harry curiously.

“Yes, he and his people visited here about 23 years ago,” responded the Saarai-kar. “He was sixteen at the time and I remember that he spent almost the entire year long visit flirting with me. He was determined to 'see me under my armor' as he put it.”

At this, Harry could only face-palm. This was the second time he had heard of his father only to find out his father was apparently a shameless flirt. It wasn't very encouraging and Harry couldn't help but wonder how any woman could have allowed themselves to bear his child. Beside him, the others were trying, and failing, to hold in their laughter.

“I apologize if my birth father offended you in anyway,” said Harry cautiously. The last thing Harry wanted was for relations between the Jedi and the Jensaarai to go bad due to some offense his birth father had given.

“On the contrary,” assured the Saarai-kar, “I was flattered. Any woman likes to know that she can still attract young men at my age. If I didn't know for a fact that he was in love with that red-haired girl I would have taken him up on his offer to run away with him.”

That last comment was made in such a teasing tone that even Harry couldn't confuse it as anything else. Beside him, Alema had broken down laughing at the image of Harry's father flirting with the woman in front of him while Numa didn't follow simply because she had tuck a fist in her mouth to muffle her laughter. Harry was just mortified at the mental image it had conjured.

“We did come for two other reasons, milady,” interrupted Kyle respectfully.

“Which are?” said the Saarai-kar, all business again.

“The first is to warn you of a planned raid on your people,” said Kyle. “We recently learned of the existence of an Academy dedicated to teaching how to wield the dark-side. They seem to have been abducting children across the galaxy, usually from worlds where they wouldn't be missed or noticed. However, we recently learned that they have been planning to raid your people, both for the students available here and the Sith knowledge you hold.”

“This is disturbing news,” acknowledged the Saarai-kar after a moment of silence, “and I thank our allies the Jedi for warning us. You have proved that you are earnest in your desire for this alliance. And the third reason?”

“The third reason is more of a gift and request,” began Kyle cautiously. “We recently acquired a few holocrons that explain how to better use the techniques you have at your disposal. We are gifting them to you along with some dark-side imbued weapons that we wish for you to purify in return for your teaching these three apprentices how to create your armor.”

At this, the Saarai-kar was silent. They knew it was a tall order. After all, their armor was a part of their order. To teach it to another that would not join them permanently was asking much. The Saarai-kar was silent for almost 5 minutes, silently debating the pros and cons to the request.

“I will allow this,” began the Saarai-kar, exciting them for a moment, “but only for the Potter boy. Furthermore, I must have an oath of you, Potter. That you will not teach this to any but your future apprentices and that they in turn would be bound by that same oath. I want you to swear on all you hold dear or may the Force strip you of them if you break it. As for the two girls, I shall test them and teach them what secrets we have that we think might best suit their respective styles but not the armor. That is my offer.”

The Jedi looked at each other and after the two Rar twins shrugged in acceptance, they turned to the Saarai-kar. “Very well and I swear,” answered Harry without hesitation. She was allowing a great honor and he would not demean it by hesitating.

“Also, I personally shall teach you this craft,” stated the Saarai-kar. “It is the least I can do in the memory of two old friends. To make sure that their child is well-protected.”

At this, Harry lowered his head. A part of him was glad that his parents were such good people that people who met them briefly over 20 years ago could do so much in their memory. Another part was slightly jealous that she got to meet them and he did not. On the bright side, Harry would get to ask about his birth parents. Harry didn't voice the want to know of them to Luke and Mara because he didn't want them to think he didn't love them. On the contrary, he did very much. But as an orphan he wanted to know where he had come from. 

“We are agreed then,” said Kyle seriously. “I will be staying with them during the month as well but only to help them in their Jedi studies. They have been given permission to teach your students anything they deem acceptable.”

“That is very generous,” said the Saarai-kar. “We thank you for it.”

After several more pleasantries, the Saarai-kar told them that a guide would lead them to their room. At her call, a Defender appeared to lead them to their rooms.

“Mr. Potter,” called out the Saarai-kar, causing said boy to pause and the others to stop. “Can you please stay a moment? I promise it won't take long.”

Harry looked at the others and nodded for them to go on and they did so reluctantly. Numa looked back at him in worry but he just sent her a reassuring smile and returned to stand before the Saarai-kar.

The Saarai-kar looked at him for a moment, not saying anything, before speaking. “You look very much like him. When you arrived I could have sworn you were him and had somehow found a way to turn younger. Then I saw your eyes... you have your mother's eyes.”

Harry gulped as he tried to stop himself from showing how much those words affected him. For an orphan to hear about his parents was probably worth more than a million credits and he lapped up her words like a thirsty man in the desert.

The Saarai-kar seemed to come back herself before speaking. “Master Katarn said your last name is also Skywalker now, correct?” Seeing Harry nod, she hummed to herself. “How strange it is. That of all people in the galaxy, he should be the one to find you. Strange are the ways of the Force. Your adopted father sent me a holo a few weeks ago asking me to teach his son the finer points of Makashi. At first, I thought about denying him. After all, why should I give away secrets when he does not do the same? But now that he has given us these gifts and holocrons and considering you are the son he spoke of, I have decided to fulfill his request.”

Harry's eyes widened at her words, scarcely believing them. “You mean...”

“Yes,” confirmed the amused woman. “Along with your other studies I shall be perfecting your Makashi. Be aware,” her tone turned firm and uncompromising. “I do not tolerate anything but perfection. We will not stop training until you have perfected it to an acceptable level and I believe all that is left is experience. Is that understood?”

“Yes, ma'am,” responded Harry eagerly. He was actually going to be trained in Makashi by someone who was a master in it! He could hardly control his excitement.

“Very well, you may leave,” intoned the Saarai-kar, gesturing for him to leave.

Harry bowed in thanks before leaving out the door, his mind going in circles over everything he'd just been told and revealed. One thing was for certain.

This month was going to very interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And there's chapter 9!
> 
> Hope you liked the chapter. A little bit of action in the beginning as well as further development on the whole Harry/Alema/Numa thing. Needless to say that when Alema finds out, she will NOT be happy. As for Jaina, I don't know if you got it but in chapter 7, I decided that they'd stay friends for now though there is still some sexual tension there. However, for now they're still trying to figure out where they stand and for that reason aren't moving any further in their relationship. There will be more Harry/Jaina moments though.
> 
> Chapter 10 should be out either later today or tomorrow. I'm still editing and changing it, basically adding a totally awesome fight scene between Harry's group and the Shadow Academy. Then my beta has to check it over before I publish it so t might take a while. There will also be more HP characters in this compared to the original so expect to see some familiar faces. 
> 
> As always, Read and Review!


	10. Conflicts in the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter 10**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> AN: Beta'ed by NIX'S WARDEN

** Jensaarai headquarters, Susevfi, early 23 ABY **

It had been three weeks since Harry and the group had started training under the Jensaarai. In that time, Harry could truthfully say that he had learned a lot about both himself and the Force. Harry learned a new appreciation for the basics when he learned ballistakinesis. While telekinetically lifting and throwing something is a basic skill taught to all younglings, lifting a handful of small objects and throwing them at a target at lethal velocities (Harry had even seen one Defender throw them as fast as a blaster bolt and make it look easy!) was a whole other level.

This demonstration of just how the basics could be used with dangerous application made Harry review everything he knew in an attempt to master it and apply new ways of using it. Harry could now say with absolute certainty that he would never learn to fly until he was much stronger. 

He had tried. 

Repeatedly. 

He still had the bruises.

He had found that, to his chagrin, he had been neglecting his early morning training routines which meant his base speed and reflex were the same as they were 6 months ago. He only thought he was getting stronger and faster because he was relying on the Force more and more. This was unacceptable to him and he once more got in the habit of exercising in the morning. When the Rar twins found out, they joined him, adding flexibility exercises as well. Harry's self-control was tested whenever they did their stretching exercises in front of him while wearing short shorts and tank tops. It didn't help that both made sure to exaggerate it for his benefit whenever the other wasn't looking.

They had quickly disembarked the cargo of weapons and holocrons from the ship and the Jensaarai were very grateful. Especially the instructors because this meant that there were more available Defenders on duty instead of being stuck as instructors. The lack of any written books as instruction meant that they had pass on the knowledge through word of mouth, which was especially dangerous if someone with certain knowledge died before they could pass it on. The gift of a holocron which they could use to add knowledge to was a gift that made some instructors almost weep in joy. 

The weapons had been quickly purified by the Jensaarai and they now used them to teach younger apprentices katas before moving on to lightsaber training. After all, the weapons can cut you but a lightsaber can cut off a limb easily.

Harry and, to a lesser extent, the Rar twins had quickly become a part of the Jensaarai and the Jensaarai no longer looked at them askance. This may be in no small part due to the fact that they listened to the Jensaarai's point of view and considered it instead of dismissing it out of hand instantly due to they're being “Gray Jedi”. Indeed it wasn't uncommon for Harry to have a friendly debate with one or two instructors on the merits of this or that way of thinking. While they did not always agree, they always ended the debate amicably.

Harry had quickly found that his so-called prodigal skill with a lightsaber meant little against a people born, bred and raised around lightsaber combat since they could walk. Harry's skill was sufficient to match skilled apprentice but any Defender could kick his ass through dint of sheer experience and thousands of hours of lightsaber sparring.

This had lit a fire under him and he'd spent almost every moment he wasn't learning how to create the Jensaarai armor or other Jensaarai Force techniques, sparring with other Jensaarai. The constant lightsaber sparring had sharpened his reflexes and skills incredibly which the Saarai-kar's advanced Makashi instruction only added to.

The Saarai-kar had truly impressed Harry with her skill. As far as he knew, she was at least old enough to have been in her thirties during the end of the Clone Wars, making her at least seventy-five now. However, that was hard to believe with how agile, quick and skilled she was with her lightsaber. Harry guessed that his Dad was one of the few to have ever defeated her and his respect for his father's lightsaber skill grew even further.

During his training sessions with the Saarai-kar, Harry had been pushed to his limits. She expected perfection and he tried his best to give it to her, accepting her critique with little more than a nod of understanding and correcting it.

Makashi, she'd told him, was a perfectionist style that emphasized footwork and precision while imparting the need to avoid enslavement to form. Unlike other forms, which had drills and maneuvers that one applied to every situation, Makashi's drills were repeated over and over again, not because they should be applied the same way every time but rather so they became instinctive. This was so the duelist could enter a trance-like state while applying the maneuvers, leaving his mind free to plan strategies to defeat his opponent.

Duelists of other forms usually only thought of their lightsaber skill and defeating their enemy with it. Makashi duelists, on the other hand, had their minds free to detect moments of opportunity to disable the opponent. They maneuvered their opponent to where they had the advantage or even to separate multiple opponents so they could take them down one by one. It made for a tactical and dangerous opponent whose every step and maneuver was part of an overall strategy instead of just a reaction to the opposing duelist's own maneuvers and techniques.

Makashi duelists also sometimes integrated Force techniques into their style, if forced to it and Harry had decided to refine his known techniques so he could do the same. His control over telekinesis had also improved dramatically (though this was a natural part of trying to learn ballistakinesis) as well his Force telepathy and empathy. Harry could now reliably add Force speed to his lightsaber combat for a long time instead of just short bursts like he had before. Harry could also tell if any Force-sensitive below the level of Master was lying to him which was pretty cool. 

On a side note, he still lost horribly in sabacc.

In secret, Harry had been trying to master his ability with seeing shatterpoints. Before now, he had simply dismissed it as an esoteric skill he could use outside of combat. However, after a conversation with the Saarai-kar who told him Mace Windu, the creator of Vaapad, used shatterpoints in combat, pushed him to try and do the same.

It was very difficult since it required him to concentrate for a moment before seeing them but he was getting better. His goal was to be able to switch shatterpoint view on and off like flipping a switch so he could use it during combat to identify moments of opportunity and weaknesses in the opponent's style.

However, despite all of this, the one memory of his time here that Harry truly treasured happened a week ago.

* * *

** Flashback start **

_Harry was currently with the Saarai-kar learning the necessary steps to do alchemy. The Saarai-kar stated it was more a state of mind than anything else. Harry was convinced he could do alchemy without drawing on the dark-side. So far, no success._

_“That's enough,” said the Saarai-kar._

_Harry stopped trying to will the coin to change to something else. He rubbed his head to get rid of the headache that had formed._

_“What are you imagining?” asked the Saarai-kar._

_“Huh?” asked Harry confusedly._

_“What are you imagining changing the coin into?” asked the Saarai-kar. “Another coin? A puddle of water? What are you imagining?”_

_“Um... I'm supposed to imagine something?” asked Harry sheepishly._

_The Saarai-kar groaned in exasperation at his words. “You mean that all this time you've just been willing it to change without direction?” asked the Saarai-kar in an annoyed tone._

_“Um.....kinda,” said Harry sheepishly._

_The Saarai-kar looked up at the ceiling as if asking some god to give her strength._

_“We'll continue this tomorrow,” she stated with a sigh before speaking in a slightly fond tone. “You're a lot like your father. He didn't think things through before doing them either and hated asking for help.”_

_Harry's throat dried at the comment. Gulping, he asked, “Can you tell me about him?” He tried to hide the desperate tone in his voice but didn't think he had much success._

_The Saarai-kar was silent and for a moment Harry thought she wouldn't answer before she said, “Your father was the most shameless flirt I had ever met. And at my age, that is saying something. The only one who could possibly equal him in that regard was his best friend, Sirius. That one didn't try to flirt with me only due to fear. I had caught him in a..... compromising position with a female apprentice his first week with us. After I talked to him, he was terrified of being in the same room as me.”_

_Harry listened to all this in rapt silence. Imagining in his mind's eye a man that looked like him flirting with countless women with his best friend (that curiously looked a lot like Jacen) and succeeding in bedding them. He wondered if he ever had the same problem he currently had with the Rar twins and what advice he would give._

_“Was he a good man?” asked Harry. This was what Harry truly wanted to know. Being a flirt was one thing and it didn't show much a person's character either way. Uncle Han had been a major flirt in his time according to a lot of people but was still a great man so it didn't really say much about a man's moral fiber._

_Just his lack of control of his libido._

_“Yes,” said the Saarai-kar in a low tone. “I was not completely joking when I said I would have run away with him. At the time I still thought my husband had been a good man till his death. I did not want to dishonor his memory with another man. If I had met your father when I was younger and I hadn't married my husband... I would have courted him in earnest.”_

_Harry digested this. The Saarai-kar did not seem like a woman who would make these sort of comments lightly. His father must have really made an impression._

_“He was especially gifted in Alter abilities, especially the Alter Environment ability,” mused the Saarai-kar. She seemed to be more talking to herself than him now. “He could make the ground come alive and take the form of beasts with a wave of his hand.”_

_Harry tried to imagine it. The ability to summon a creature made out of nature instantly. He must have been very powerful. Sure, Harry had heard of Jedi capable of changing the environment but that usually consisted of manipulating what was already there. None of them had ever actually changed the ground into actual living creatures to fight for them before if that was what the Saarai-kar said his father could do._

_“You seem to take after your mother though,” mused the Saarai-kar. “Lily was more gifted at Elemental Alter abilities such as lightning and flashes of light. But her true gift lay in the mind trick area. She could create illusions so real that your body would believe it true.”_

_“Lightning?” asked Harry with a feeling of dread. “What color was her lightning?”_

_When the Great Holocron had first arrived at the Academy, they had used it to give lectures on many different things. One of them was on the difference between light-side and dark-side abilities. Apparently, Force lightning had a light-side equivalent which shot emerald lightning unlike the Sith's blue or purple lightning._

_“Hmm? Oh, well she had two versions. She could use a emerald version like the color of her eyes,” said the Saarai-kar. “Or she could use a blue version. I never figured out the difference.”_

_Harry was conflicted. Emerald lightning was a power of the light-side according to the Great Holocron and a powerful version at that. But blue lightning was an equally powerful version of the dark side. How could she use both so easily?_

_“They were both sixteen when they arrived here,” said the Saarai-kar. “Even then, it was obvious that your father had eyes only for your mother even as he flirted with other women. He only flirted with others because she always rejected him. I think it was because James was always at odds with her best friend. A boy called Severus. That boy always disquieted me. So cold and calculating. Always watching you.”_

_Hearing about Severus, Harry was disquieted too. The boy sounded like a bit like a Sith apprentice to Harry but then maybe it was normal for their culture and his father was the oddball. Then he realized something._

_“They were Force users?” asked Harry in a suspicious tone. “How did they escape Palpatine's detection?”_

_“Oh, they never stayed in one place for too long,” explained the Saarai-kar. “They only stayed with us for a year and that was long for them. They moved from place to place on their self-sufficient cargo ship which they called Hogwarts. It was named in honor of their former Academy. A curious name.”_

_Harry was confused and asked, “Was it normal in their culture to not have a permanent living place?”_

_“Oh no,” said the Saarai-kar in a sad tone. “James never told me the story of what happened but they used to live peacefully in a planet in the Outer Rim in the Unknown Regions. From what I deduced from comments by him, someone or something caused a catastrophe there that caused them to abandon the planet. Of the thousands of them on the planet, only 20 children (James' generation at the time) and 2 instructors managed to escape alive.”_

_“Who were the instructors?” asked Harry._

_Here the Saarai-kar felt noticeably sad and said, “There were two when they arrived: Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick. However, it seems that their presence attracted the Empire. When the Emperor dispatched his Inquisitors to investigate, Professor McGonagall stayed behind to distract them while we hid and they escaped on their ship. She did not survive.”_

_At this, Harry lowered his head in respect to the professor's sacrifice. If she had not done what she did, Harry might not even be alive. Or worse (Harry shivered) he might have been raised by the Emperor._

_“Did you manage to save her lightsaber?” asked Harry. The least he could do was give her proper respect by assuring her lightsaber was kept with the rest of the Order's valuables._

_At the question, the Saarai-kar gave out an air of amusement and said, “Oh, they did not use lightsabers, Harry.”_

_“They were unarmed?” asked Harry in a confused tone._

_“No, they had weapons,” said the Saarai-kar. Here Harry was sure that she was winding him up._

_“Did they use blasters?” asked Harry exasperatedly. Maybe they didn't want to attract attention by using lightsabers and used blasters to blend in?_

_“Oh no, they used wands,” said the Saarai-kar in an amused tone._

_There was a minute of silence at her declaration before Harry spoke. “Wands?” he asked in an incredulous tone. “Like fairy-tale wizards?”_

_“Ah, but those fairy tales had a basis in fact, young one,” admonished the Saarai-kar. “All those stories of wizards came from people who had run across your people's planet. Of course, no one believed them because your people always made sure to erase the memories of anyone who found the planet. So while they could remember the place and what happened there, they couldn't remember how to return to the planet.”_

_“Why such secrecy?” asked Harry._

_“I don't know,” said the Saarai-kar with a shrug. “But I do know that your people's history goes back a long time. Over 24,000 years in fact according to them.”_

_At this, Harry was shocked. Their culture was very old indeed. Only the Old Jedi Order and the Old Republic went that far back and both were extinct by now. Harry felt a pang of sadness as he realized so were his people and wondered whether it was a coincidence or not._

_“Personally, I have a two theories,” said the Saarai-kar. “The first has to due with their origins. I believe they might have been the survivors of the Minions of Xendor. This is due to their claim of being founded over 24,000 years ago which is around that time. Another is due to their abilities. You know there are such things as Sith sorcerers, correct? What is there to say there wasn't a Jedi analogue to them and they left the Order for some reason?”_

_Harry was deep in thought. Both theories were plausible and the abilities she described her parents having did seem like magic. There was only one thing that bothered him._

_“Why did they use wands?” asked Harry._

_“For finesse and control,” stated the Saarai-kar. “According to them, their wand was much like a Jedi's lightsaber and was constructed by them when they believed themselves ready, usually at a tender age of eleven. They personally constructed their wands and it worked for no other. While made of wood, their wands were so imbued with the Force that they could stand up to a lightsaber if it came to it. Though they tried to avoid that.”_

_“How did it give them control?” asked Harry in confusion. “It was just to channel the Force through, right?”_

_“I don't know,” said the Saarai-kar. “They refused to reveal the secrets of their wandlore. I only know this much because James' told me once when he was very drunk.”_

_Harry rolled his eyes at the image of his father revealing secrets due to being intoxicated. All this was NOT helping him with his image of his father being a responsible adult. He sounded more like Lando whenever he saw a beautiful woman._

_“Do you know if any are still alive?” asked Harry in a low tone. Unsaid was whether his parents were alive and had abandoned him._

_“No but I'm sure your parents are dead,” said the Saarai-kar firmly._

_“How?” asked Harry. Was she there when they died? But she said they left when they were sixteen and never saw them again so how could she?_

_“Because I knew your parents,” said the Saarai-kar firmly. “And the only thing that could have separated them from their child was death.”_

_Harry looked down with a smile at that, a tear going down his face._

** Flashback end **

* * *

Harry had appreciated the gesture and soon after, had managed to quickly complete his training with alchemy under the Saarai-kar. However, he wasn't going to build his armor just yet. He didn't know what animal to use as a basis and the Saarai-kar told him that it would come to him someday. Until then, it would be best not to build it until he was sure.

A side effect of his talk with the Saarai-kar was that hearing of his mother's abilities with the mind trick had made Harry want to honor her by doing the same. Harry had put more emphasis on learning its subtleties and nuances until he could recreate her own skill with it. He was determined to learn from his parents and make good use of the stories he'd heard of them. 

However, he wouldn't delve into the deeper aspects of the mind trick until he'd spoken to his dad. He knew that the power had a deep moral debate surrounding it and wanted his input on it. He wouldn't want to mistakenly put someone in an inescapable illusion which would destroy their mind, after all. However, Harry did try his hand at Force illusions and was happy to note that he seemed to have inherited his mother's ability in it. He could easily create an illusion over himself so he would appear as someone else.

His studies into altering the environment weren't going as well. It seemed his father's skill with it had skipped him but Harry didn't mind. He preferred to work for things than have them handed to him.

One thing that bothered Harry was his mother's skill with Force lightning. When he asked Master Kyle about it, he simply said that it was her intent that counted not the nature of the ability. Then again, Kyle used Force lightning as well so he might have been biased. What bothered him was that he apparently had a predisposition to the ability. Harry had tried his hand at learning Force lightning and had managed to create sparks with it within only a single session. It unnerved him greatly and he'd stopped trying to learn it, but it still bothered him whenever he thought about it.

Harry was currently practicing his skills under a Defender with a snow falcon motif. This same Defender had helped Harry make a physical routine to maximize both strength and speed. She (Well, Harry thought she was a she anyway) was also the one Harry was teaching Force light and Force blinding to. Numa had opted to teach them how to enter a hibernation trance while Alema was teaching them Force cloak which had surprised Harry since he didn't know she knew the ability.

Harry was currently trying to make an illusion of a Corellian sand panther. However, he couldn't quite get it. Solace (the name of the Defender) commented that it may be due to never having seen the animal before and to try one he had seen before. Therefore, Harry created an illusion of a swamp wampa. It took some effort but he succeeded in creating one so real that she took a step back in surprise. Solace complimented him on the feat. 

After saying goodbye, Harry departed toward his room, thinking on something else that had changed this past few weeks.

Despite knowing there was more to her, Harry had always thought Alema as more carefree and well, aloof than her more responsible sister. However this past few weeks had showed a side of her that he didn't know she had. She had stopped her flirtatious comments and innuendos and become completely focused on her training and in teaching the younger Jensaarai. The sight of her doting on the younger ones had warmed his heart when he saw it.

While they had been close friends in the Academy, Harry had become even closer to Alema now. It seemed as if the time with her Master and sister helping people across the galaxy had caused her to mature from the slightly vain girl she was before. He hadn't noticed since he rarely saw her but as his lightsaber spar with her had shown, she had grown up from the little girl she was before. She was more serious and mature, and sometimes even wise with the things she said and to be truthful, Harry found himself liking the new Alema a lot.

Of course, this only made him feel more guilty about his secret relationship with Numa and he'd tried to get Numa to tell Alema. However, she had refused, afraid that her sister's reaction to the news would destroy their relationship as sisters. He could understand that Alema would be angry but the more mature side Harry had seen of Alema told him that while she'd be angry, she would forgive them with time.

What she wouldn't forgive was their sneaking around and frankly, Harry himself was getting tired of it. Numa just kept giving excuses and it wore on Harry, making him wonder why she was more worried about other people's reaction than their happiness. Did she really expect them to be able to keep it a secret forever?

He had eventually gotten so frustrated with her that a week ago he'd told her that until she told her sister, they were just friends. He was tired of being strung along and hidden as if she was ashamed of him and if she really didn't want to hurt her sister so badly then perhaps it would be best for them not to be together.

Alema, of course, had noticed the sudden distance between them and asked if something happened. Not being able to tell her the truth, he simply told her they had an argument. Making him feel even guiltier was the fact that she consoled him and told him that it would pass and her sister could be stubborn at times. It was like the tables had turned and Alema was the mature one and Numa was the childish one and he didn't like it. One of the things he'd always liked about Numa was her apparent maturity and her sudden lack of it grated.

Sighing to himself, Harry pushed it out of his mind. Right now, all he wanted was to take a shower and go to sleep. He was so tired that he forgot that he was sharing a bathroom with the girls and opened the door to the bathroom without knocking. Hearing a gasp, Harry looked up toward the sound.

Standing there with a surprised expression on her face was Alema covered in a towel and nothing else, looking at Harry in embarrassment as she held up her towel with one hand. As for Harry, he was mortified at his mistake but too shocked to do anything other than stand there staring at her beautiful form with his mouth open. 

After a minute, something seemed to come over Alema and she looked around for a second. Seeing that they were alone, she bit her lip and gave Harry a seductive and inviting smile that sent shivers down his spine; and it wasn't due to fear. “If you wanted a look,” said Alema as she seductively walked toward the still shell-shocked Harry with a coy and inviting look in her eyes, “all you had to do was ask.”

As she finished her statement, she had reached Harry and closed the distance till her still-covered breasts were touching his chest. As for Harry, he could do nothing but take in his fellow Padawan's form. He took in her long legs that seemed to go on forever, her breasts that even covered were noticeable as large for her age, and her perfect face with green eyes that was currently sporting a seductive little smile.

Harry had always known his Alema was beautiful and his trysts with her twin, Numa, had only reinforced that. But seeing her now clad in only a towel and still wet from her shower, it really hit him just how gorgeous she was. Beautiful soft azure skin, large but not too large breasts, legs that seemed to go on forever and a trimmed, athletic form made a living wet dream. He watched as if entranced as a single drop of water rolled down her neck and down into her cleavage, causing him to gulp and harden. Despite his rational mind telling him he should leave before they were caught, he found himself frozen unable to move.

“Um, I-,” started Harry.

That was as far as he would go because Alema quickly grabbed his head and drew him into a scorching kiss. Harry couldn't help but compare her kiss with the ones he had with Numa. Numa's had always been slightly innocent and chaste despite her now having more experience. They had feeling behind it as well as passion, showing her feelings for him.

However, Alema's blew Numa's out of the water. Her kiss seemed to convey passion, lust and affection all at once. But what surprised Harry the most was the real feeling he felt behind the kiss, telling Harry that she truly did have feelings for him beyond lust. It made it hard to resist and before long he was returning the kiss eagerly, causing her to moan into his mouth.

A part of him was screaming that he was cheating on Numa. That no matter if they were fighting this wasn't right. However, a larger part was telling that part to shut up and go for it. That Numa obviously didn't care for him as strongly as she said if she couldn't even find the courage to face her sister for him. He hadn't realized how much all the sneaking around had hurt him until now but now he couldn't help but bitterly wonder if she'd ever planned to tell Alema about them or just string him along until she got tired of him.

This caused him to deepen the kiss and hug Alema to his chest, causing her to moan into the kiss at the feel of his hard pectorals against her still-covered breasts.

The atmosphere slowly heated up and the two began making out in earnest. Alema jumped up and wrapped her legs around Harry's waist, causing him to grab her behind so she wouldn't fall. Alema rubbed herself against him, exciting him with the knowledge that she was naked under the towel and all it would take was one tug for her to be completely bare. Harry carried her to the wall and pushed her against it before starting to suckle on her neck.

“Harry,” moaned out Alema, silently demanding more. The look in her eyes was one of pure sin and it was taking all his self-control not to rip off his pants and impale himself into her willing sex.

However, everything froze when he heard a gasp and something falling onto the floor behind them.

Stiffening, the full weight of what they were doing hit him as well as the only person who just caught them could be. With a resigned and guilty look, Harry turned around to see a broken-hearted Numa standing at the doorway with tears in her eyes.

“Numa?” asked a surprised Alema. She quickly covered herself up in embarrassment and opened her mouth to say something but froze when she saw the look on her face. “Numa? What's wrong?”

However, Numa only had eyes for Harry. Harry felt his heart break at the look of hurt and utter betrayal on her face and felt lower than dirt in that moment. Before he could say anything, Numa ran out of the room, tears dropping from her eyes.

“Shit,” muttered Harry as he quickly put on his pants. “Give me a second, Alema. I need to talk to her.”

Alema was confused though suspicion filled her eyes. “Okay. But we need to have a talk afterwards.”

Harry flinched at the accusation in her tone but nodded, quickly leaving the room in the direction he felt Numa had taken.

He eventually found her in an empty room nearby, hiding under the covers and crying heavily, breaking his heart further. Hesitantly, Harry approached the ball of bed sheets that represented Numa. “Numa?” The bed sheets froze at his voice but he continued. “Numa? Please talk to me.”

The covers didn't move for a second before they flew off, revealing a red-eyed Numa glaring at him. “Talk about what? How good it felt to make out from my wonderful sister? How you betrayed me not even a week after our first fight? How easy it was for you to forget all your so-called feelings for me the moment my sister threw herself at you? HUH? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT, HARRY?!”

Harry winced at her enraged tone and gave her a placating gesture. “I'm sorry, Numa. It was an accident. I didn't mean-”

“AN ACCIDENT?!” yelled Numa angrily. “What? Did she lose something down her throat and you were trying to get it with your tongue!? Is that it?! Tell me, Harry! Tell me about this so-called accident!”

Harry winced and momentarily wondered if he should have brought his lightsaber since she was swinging her unlit one around as she screamed. “No, I just-”

“JUST WHAT, HARRY?!” yelled Numa angrily, cutting him off. “What excuse could you possibly give me for what you just did?!” Suddenly, she broke down and started to sob. “You broke my heart, Harry. I really liked you. Maybe even loved you. Please, just leave.”

“Numa, I-”

“LEAVE!” screamed Numa before breaking down again onto the bed. “Please, Harry. Just leave.”

Harry's shoulders dropped and he nodded as he walked out of the room, leaving a heartbroken girl behind.

* * *

** Same room, an hour later **

Numa was still crying on the bed of the empty room, asking what she did wrong that caused Harry to cheat on her. The fact it was with Alema of all people only made it worse.

To be truthful, she had always been a little jealous of Alema. She wished she was as confident and sure of her looks as she was. No matter how much she tried to shrug it off, all Numa felt when she dressed up was the leering eyes of the males around her. While Alema could somehow brush it off, it wasn't so easy for her to do. For this reason, men always tended to look at Alema first since she radiated confidence and surety in herself. Numa wished she had that and then maybe Harry would look at her like that.

She'd thought it didn't matter though when it became clear he reciprocated her feelings and she had been ecstatic. However, then she'd thought about her sister finding out and fear filled her. Her greatest fear hadn't been her reaction to the news per se. 

No, her fear had been that Alema would try to steal Harry from her regardless of their relationship together, either consciously or not. Alema had always been considered the prettier one of the two despite them being twins and she had been afraid that Harry would think the same and leave her for Alema once he saw that she was no longer the same vain girl she had been at the Praxeum.

What just happened had been like the manifestation of her worst fears of being alone since everyone she got close to would leave her for Alema. It hurt and she felt tears come anew as she remembered catching her Harry making out with her sister. She'd known he'd been frustrated with her lack of courage in telling her sister but she just... couldn't. His frustration only fed her fears of him leaving her for Alema which made her even less inclined to tell her, leading to their fight. If they hadn't fought, would he still have cheated on her?

“You know,” Numa's head shot up to see the Saarai-kar standing there. “When I heard I felt someone in pain through the Force, I hadn't thought it would be you. Mind to tell me what happened?”

“Nothing, Saarai-kar,” mumbled Numa as she tried to hide her tears. “I was just resting.”

“Ah,” said the Saarai-kar gently. “So boy trouble then?” Seeing Numa's surprised look, she chuckled. “I may be old but I am still a woman. A woman only cries like that about the man she has feelings for which I imagine is a certain black-haired boy we both know. So...” she sat down on the bed beside her and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “...mind telling me what happened?”

At first, Numa didn't say anything but eventually the entire story spilled out of her. Her dating Harry in secret. Her hiding it from her sister. Harry's frustration with the arrangement which only adding to her fears and their eventual fight. And then catching him making out with her sister of all people.

“I shouldn't be surprised,” said Numa sullenly. “She was always the prettier, more outgoing one. Boys always liked her more, probably because she was more willing to go further, the little slut.”

The Saarai-kar hadn't said anything during the explanation and sighed now. “You know. They say that history repeats itself but I didn't think it was an actual fact.” Seeing Numa's confused look, she explained. “When Harry's parents were here, I comforted his mother over something similar as this. Despite what James thought, she did like him but rejected him due to his playboy ways. I found her one night, crying to herself due to hearing him having bedded a local girl. Like you, I comforted her and told her what she refused to see.”

“What's that?” asked Numa curiously.

“That she brought it upon herself,” said the Saarai-kar simply. Seeing Numa's hurt look, she explained. “The reason James slept with other women was because she rejected him. If she just admitted her feelings instead of caring whether or not her friend Severus would feel, she wouldn't have to cry over him. The same goes for you. Perhaps if you had admitted to Alema your feelings for Harry and your relationship, this wouldn't have happened. And to be completely truthful, Numa. Do you honestly, in your heart of hearts, believe your sister would be so petty as to steal Harry from you if she knew you two were together?”

At first, Numa wanted to say yes, yes she would. Alema had always had a crush on Harry and she would no doubt hate Numa for stealing him and would try to steal him back. However, slowly her anger faded and she gave a resigned sigh. “No. Alema wouldn't do that. She'd be angry and hurt at first but she would have forgiven me and been happy for us.” Then Numa looked back up at her with anger in her eyes. “But that doesn't excuse Harry! He knew about us and still cheated on me!”

“Ah,” said the Saarai-kar gently. “But remember two things: Harry is a teenage boy and your sister is very beautiful. Coupled with the fact that she didn't know about you two and she, as you said, had feelings for him and it was only natural that she would attempt to 'make her move' as you call it. As for Harry himself, he is a teenage boy as I said and coupled with his frustration at your perceived shame of being with him and well, men tend to think with their penises when they are angry and frustrated, not thinking through the consequences of their actions.”

“Ashamed!?” asked Numa angrily. “I wasn't ashamed of him!”

“Then why did you not tell you sister?” asked the Saarai-kar calmly.

“I told you why!” retorted Numa. “Because I was afraid Alema would steal him!”

“But did you tell Harry that?” asked the Saarai-kar firmly. Seeing the look on her face, she nodded. “You see, despite our best wishes, boys are not psychic and cannot know what we're thinking and so interpret our actions incorrectly at times. In his eyes, there was no reason to not tell your sister so he could only incorrectly think it was because you were ashamed of him.”

“As for keeping it a secret from Ms. Rar: how would you feel if the roles were reversed and she was keeping her relationship with Harry from you? What if you made your move with Harry after he was dating Alema in secret and he rejected you only to find out he had secretly been dating your sister? How would you feel about her keeping it secret from you?”

Numa looked down before responding sadly. “Betrayed. Hurt. I'd wonder what other secrets she was keeping from me and whether I could trust her anymore. I'd also feel terrible for hitting on Harry and hurting her but the worst was that she felt the need to hide it from me. I'd feel as if she didn't trust me anymore.”

“Then you know what you did wrong,” said the Saarai-kar sagely. “Now the question is what you're going to do now.”

“What do you mean?” asked Numa quietly.

“Despite what you saw, I don't believe Harry did it on purpose. Being a teenage boy, regardless of his maturity, he probably got caught up in the heat of the moment, fueled by his frustration at his situation with you. Alema, also, did not seduce him knowing he was with you so she was not at fault. What you need to decide is this: you know that Alema has feelings for Harry and so do you. The question you need to ask yourself is: what do you want more? To be with Harry or for your sister to be happy? And if you wish to be with Harry, can you forgive him for his momentary lapse in control or not? And if you wish for your sister to be happy, can you stand aside and watch her be with Harry if that is both their desires?”

The Saarai-kar seemed to smile down at Numa from behind her mask and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I'll leave you to think about it.”

Numa was left deep in thought about what she should do as the Saarai-kar left the room. Numa looked down, deep in thought when she heard someone enter the room.

“Nu-nu?” Numa looked up at the familiar nickname, seeing her twin standing there looking ashamed. “Can we talk?”

Numa studied her sister and sighed in resignation. “Yeah. I think we should.”

* * *

** Back in Harry's room, Jensaari hideout, ten minutes earlier **

SLAP!

Harry winced as Alema slapped him across the face. “I guess I deserved that.”

“Yes, you did,” growled Alema angrily. “And if Numa decides to give you another you'll take it like a man. What the hell, Harry?! How could you cheat on her?! And with me of all people!? By the Force, I feel so dirty now! I betrayed my own sister!”

“No,” said Harry firmly. “This is my fault. You didn't know and you deserve none of the blame. If you two need to hate someone then hate me but don't let me come between you two.”

“It's a little late for that,” retorted Alema, getting a wince from Harry. She sighed deeply and looked up at him with hurt in her eyes. “Why didn't you two tell me? Why'd you keep it a secret? I would have been okay with it, if not a little hurt.”

Harry sighed and shrugged. “I don't know. It was Numa's idea. I kept insisting that you'd be okay with it but she kept making excuses. If you ask me, she was just ashamed of me or something.”

Alema furrowed her eyebrows at that. “Ashamed of you? I don't think so. I think it's more likely she was afraid I'd steal you away from her.”

Now it Harry's turn to look confused. “Huh? Why would she think that?”

Alema sighed and sat beside him on the bed. “Despite us being twins, boys have always paid more attention to me for some reason. I think it's because I'm more flirtatious and confident in my looks than her, I dunno. Whenever she got interested in a boy, that boy would in turn be interested in me. There was this one time that she had a crush on a boy and thought he was interested in her as well. Then he turned around and started hitting on me, thinking I was better because I was easy. I guess it created a sort of inferiority complex in her in regards to me. She always thinks that any boy she's interested in would leave her for me.”

Harry frowned at that. “That's stupid. For one, any guy that would do that isn't worth her time. Second, while you two look similar, you are two very different people and any guy should like you for you. Third, you would never get with a guy that played with your sister like that.”

Alema smirked. “Damn straight. No one hurts my sister like that which is why I'm so pissed at you.”

Harry sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I didn't do it on purpose. I just... you're really beautiful, Alema, plus my frustration with Numa and I just...” He shrugged unable to put it into words.

“Basically, you decided to turn off your brain and think with your dick,” said Alema dryly, getting a wince and nod from Harry in confirmation. Alema shook her head, half in exasperation and half in disbelief. “Who would have thought it? The great, prodigal Harry Potter is human, after all.”

Harry rolled his eyes and bumped his shoulder into hers at her words, getting her to giggle and push him back. Sighing, Harry looked up at the ceiling. “I really messed this up. How am I going to fix this?”

“First,” said Alema as she got up. “You're going to go to sleep and let me talk to her first. She and I have a lot to clear up first and it's been a long time coming. Afterwards, you can beg and grovel like a dog for her forgiveness.”

“Gee, thanks,” said Harry dryly. Sighing once more, Harry got up. “Alright then. I'm going to go sleep. It's been a long day.”

“Tell me about it,” shot back Alema. “I'm going to go find her. You said she was on the fourth to the left two corridors down?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, you can't miss it though it's a little far. Goodnight, Alema and thanks.”

“Don't thank me yet,” said Alema dryly. “I'm going to tell her to spar with you with her lightsaber at low and you without your lightsaber to get it out of her system.”

Harry winced at the idea and paled before gulping. “If it helps... then I'll take my just desserts.”

“Good boy,” said Alema condescendingly as she patted his head getting a light glare from the boy. Giggling, Alema left toward where Numa was at.

As she reached the room, the Saarai-kar came out and inclined her head at her. “Ms. Rar. Your sister is inside. I think you two have much to speak about.”

“Yes, thank you,” said Alema quietly. Alema silently entered the room to find her sister on the bed, deep in thought. 

“Nu-nu?” said Alema, using the childish nickname she had for her when they were kids. “Can we talk?”

Numa looked up at her sister and sighed. “Yeah. I think we should.”

* * *

** Jensaarai base, Two days later, Nighttime **

The last two days had gone better than Harry expected. Alema and Numa seemed to have talked and settled their differences or at least, come to terms with them. They actually seemed closer than before and were rarely far from each other.

As promised, Numa had had a 'spar' with him which basically consisted of him disarmed while she grabbed a wooden stick and wailed on him. The excuse was that he might find himself someday fighting someone armed while he himself was unarmed and needed to know how to fight in such moments. He would have believed it if it wasn't for the slightly sadistic glint in Numa's eye when she said it.

Fortunately, she hadn't seemed to want to kill him since all her strikes were to non-lethal areas. Unfortunately, those areas she did hit happened to be very painful. She had also waited until the end before kicking him straight in the jewels with a lot of force, making him pass out instantly from the pain. He knew he deserved it but, by the Force that hurt!

The only good part had been that it seemed to strip her of most of her anger since she had actually been kind enough to take him to the infirmary and even sat next to him at dinner even if she didn't speak to him. It was better than he hoped for and he didn't push. She would speak to him when she felt like it and not a moment sooner.

Harry sighed and winced in phantom pain as he remembered her kick to his nuts. While the pain had left, the memory would definitely haunt him for ages to come. Sighing to himself, he settled down to go to sleep since tomorrow was another day. 

It felt as if he'd been asleep for only ten minutes when a distant explosion and an alarm woke him up. 

He was instantly on his feet with his silver-green lightsaber alit in his hand. After making sure the coast was clear, he grabbed his second curved-hilt saber and his Bryar pistol before running out of his room in just his pants (with holster). He turned off his silver-green lightsaber as he left the room and ran into the Rar twins. Despite what had happened between them, they instantly and silently agreed to find Master Kyle first and ran to find him.

They found him quickly, fully dressed and ready for a fight. “Looks like they actually went through with the raid,” said Kyle grimly as he looked toward where the explosion came from. “Probably took these last few weeks to gather a big enough group. You three go toward the apprentices' rooms and evacuate the younglings. This could be a distraction to get to them so your job is to protect them at all costs. Me and the Defenders will take care of the intruders.”

With that, he ran toward the sounds of blasterfire and lightsaber dueling.

“We should go help,” said Numa but Harry grabbed her arm and shook his head. “No,” said Harry firmly. “Master Kyle is right. The younglings and apprentices are the real target and this could be a distraction. We need to evacuate them to safety.”

Numa looked like she was about to object but eventually gave in and nodded. With a look at Alema who also nodded, the three ran toward the apprentices' quarters.

* * *

** Apprentices' quarters, Jensaarai hideout **

Yusanis usually hated the fact that it was so hard for him to sleep. He would sometimes stay awake in his bed for an hour or two just looking up at the ceiling before he finally fell asleep. However, tonight he was very glad for this particular pet peeve since it allowed him to hear the intruders and raise the alarm.

He had been fighting the intruders for a few minutes now and was getting tired. He hadn't had much experience fighting multiple opponents and was tiring quickly. The opponents seemed to sense this and kept their distance, shooting at him in order to tire him out. However, Yusanis was determined not to fail. He said he would hold them off while the apprentices took the secret way out (that only Jensaarai knew) and he would even if he died doing it.

However, his tiredness became too much as a shot passed through his defense and hit his shoulder. He dropped his lightsaber and fell to the floor in pain and exhaustion. One of the intruders, a boy a little older than him, walked up to him and sneered.

“Time to die, Thyrian scum,” said the intruder.

However, before the intruder could follow with his threat a cry arose from behind the group of intruders. The boy turned just in time to be decapitated by an silver-green lightsaber. Harry had arrived with Alema and Numa and their skill plus the surprise made quick work of the intruders.

“We need to go after the younglings. Now!” said Harry in panic.

“Harry, what's wrong?” asked Numa worriedly.

“There's no way they would have sent people this weak, no matter their numbers to capture trained Jensaarai children,” Harry explained as he checked if Yusanis was okay. Once he was sure he was, Harry led Alema and Numa toward the secret path out. “Also, the only way they could have known where the Jensaarai base was was if they were told where it was and only Jensaarai know where it is. And if they told them about the base's location..”

“.. then they would have told them about the secret way out,” finished Alema grimly as she doubled her pace. “Then we need to go before it's too late.”

* * *

** A clearing outside of Yumfla, Susevfi **

A large group of Jensaarai children stepped out of a secret exit led by two Defenders. They were the most that could be spared due to the rest being needed for the large group attacking from the front. However, they thought it was enough since they didn't expect any trouble. No one but a Jensaarai knew about this secret path and exit so they were safe.

As the group stepped into the clearing, the children in the lead gasped and stopped when they caught sight of seven cloaked figures waiting for them. The two Defenders stepped forward and activated their blades, internally cursing for forgetting their armor in their haste to escape and wondering who had betrayed them.

“You see that, Draco?” asked one figure in amusement as he turned to his companion. “I told you that stupid bitch was telling the truth about this secret exit. And you doubted me.”

“Whatever, Zabini,” retorted the one named Draco. “Let's just grab the brats and get out of here before the rest arrive. Miss Kai, which one of us should kill the would-be Jedi?”

The lead figure dropped her hood, revealing an attractive woman with long black hair and purple eyes. Beneath her cloak, they also saw that she had a sort of scale-like armor with spikes on her shoulders. The entire ensemble along with her natural presence gave off a feeling of danger and the two Defenders were starting to doubt their ability to take her own alone, much less all seven.

Tamith Kai narrowed her eyes and looked over the group in front of them toward the secret exit of the Jensaarai base. “It looks like we're going to have company sooner than expected.”

Just as she said that, Harry, Alema and Numa burst out of the exit, landing on their feet and running to stand beside the two Defenders who felt their chances to fend the enemy off long enough for help to arrive increase. Harry and the girls eyed their new enemies, mentally calculating their chances when they were outnumbered almost two to one.

“Well, well,” said Tamith Kai lightly, seeming to recognize Harry somehow. “If it isn't Harry Potter Skywalker, adopted son of Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker. I've heard great things about you.”

Harry eyed the woman and glibly said. “Sorry, but I'm not into older women. Especially when I don't know where they've been. My Mom taught me not to bring home strays. They might have diseases.”

One of the figures from behind snorted at his words and Tamith glared at the person, whose shaking shoulders told everyone just what they thought about his words. “Shut UP, Chang!” She turned and glared at Harry with dark thoughts behind her eyes. “We'll see what you think when you're begging on the floor! Malfoy, Plo! You two take care of Potter. Vilas, Chang! Take care of the Twi'lek bitch on his right while Zabini and McLaggen can take care of the other bitch. I'll destroy the Defenders. Make it quick, we don't have much time!”

Everyone paired up according to her words, not having a better idea as to who to fight and not wanting it to turn into an all-out brawl. They made sure to leave enough distance between them so that they wouldn't interfere with each other's fights.

Numa Rar vs Vilas and Cho Chang

Numa led her opponents to a wide open area near the tree line to better to use her acrobatics and agility to its fullest extent. Her time with the Jensaarai had been spent in honing her technique and skills into a deadly fighting style which made the best of her natural agility and flexibility.

The one named Chang eyed Numa disdainfully, as if looking at a lower being. “I don't see what men around the galaxy see in you Twi'lek. You're basically just big-boobed airheads with blue skin. I imagine any boy whose ever dated you has jumped ship as soon as he could.”

Numa frowned at her words, trying not to show how much her words hit the mark. “Sounds like jealousy to me. Tell me, you jealous because your boyfriend there can't keep his eyes off me while he barely acknowledges you?”

Cho's eyes glared at her with hate as she looked at her partner from the corner of her eye and scowled when she saw that, indeed, he hadn't taken his eyes off Numa's chest area. Rage filling her that her lover was eying another woman right in front of her, Cho let the rage feed her as she activated her single red lightsaber.

However, before she could say anything, Numa made the first move. Activating only one of her blue lightsabers, she dashed towards them with Force speed, surprising them slightly as they barely lifted their own red lightsabers in time to block her lightning-fast strikes. The three then exchanged a flurry of bladework as Numa attacked and they defended while launching attacks of their own which she deflected.

Eventually, the two sides disengaged with Vilas having finally come out of his leering and eying her warily. “Makashi? No.... it has elements of it though. Seems more acrobatic than Makashi specialists like though.”

Numa said nothing as she entered a dazzling display of Ataru that put both her opponents on the backfoot. Eventually, they seemed to regain their composure and Chang counter-attacked with her own show of Ataru skill.

Numa was forced on the backfoot as Chang attacked her with the speed and strength of Ataru while Vilas attacked with his own Djem So specialization. It wasn't hard for Numa to see that both her opponents were specialist duelists, Chang with Ataru and Vilas with Shien/Djem So. Chang's speed and agility were almost a match for her own, stopping Numa from simply overwhelming them with speed while Vilas' powerful blows put her in danger of having her defense overwhelmed.

Numa showed her own skill with both Ataru and Shien by blocking and counter-attacking with lightning-fast and precise strikes and jabs, actually managing to graze Vilas' shirt at one point when he didn't put up his defense in time.

Numa quickly came to the conclusion that it would be best to separate them. In that vain, when Chang next leaped at her with a flying overhand, Numa rolled under her and stopped kneeling in front of a surprised Vilas before sending him flying with a strong Force push.

Numa didn't have time to see where he landed as she quickly rolled to her feet and blocked a flurry of Ataru slashes from an angry Chang. Numa quickly responded in kind, both girls turning into a blur as blue and red blades clashed.

Numa was the first to break the stalemate by kicking Chang strongly in the chest, sending her flying back, away from where Vilas was getting back up. She wanted them to stay separated for as long as possible so she'd have less of a problem taking care of them.

Numa quickly jumped after her opponent, pressing the attack to end the fight with at least one before Vilas returned. Numa landed and quickly began attacking Cho with a vicious display of speed and strength, using both Ataru speed and Makashi precision to land several light cuts and jabs on her clothes, one even managing to almost graze her face.

However, she couldn't manage to finish her before Vilas returned with a roar, Numa managing to sidestep his downward slash but not the following backhand which sent her staggering to the side.

Before Cho could exploit the moment of weakness, Numa activated her second saber to block her strike, pushing her off her with Force-imbued strength. Numa brandished both sabers and narrowed her eyes at her opponents, an idea of how to beat them already forming.

“Round two,” muttered Numa under her breath as she blocked her enemies' attacks, slowly leading them into the forest.

Alema Rar vs Blaise Zabini and Cormac McLaggen

Alema quickly activated her double-bladed silver lightsaber, knowing she'd need its extra surface area to defend herself against both. She had led them a wide open area clear of any debris or tress so she could properly employ her saberstaff without trouble.

“Well lookie here,” said McLaggen with a sneer as he eyed Alema's form. “A girl trying to play with a man's weapon. Why don't you run on home and learn how to knit or better yet, how to properly suck a man's cock. That's all you Twi'leks are good for anyway.”

Alema felt anger fill her at his words but expertly hid it. “Are you going to fight and are we going to talk about your mommy issues because you don't know who your daddy is?”

That seemed to have struck a chord because he attacked her with a yell of rage, Blaise following right behind him, though more cautiously. Alema readied herself and just as he arrived, she deflected his blow to the side and kicked him away before turning around, causing Zabini to miss her completely. Unfortunately, he managed to roll ahead and dodge her attempt to bisect him from behind.

Clicking her tongue at the missed opportunity to halve the amount of enemies in one fell stroke, Alema turned to the returned McLaggen. Seeing him coming to attack, she employed her defensive barrier against him, easily deflecting and parrying his blows.

However, things became more complicated when Zabini returned to help from a different angle, successfully attacking her from both sides. Alema had never been so happy to have built a double-bladed lightsaber as its larger surface area allowed her to block both of them without turning her back on either. The next few seconds were a show of just how far she had come as a duelist. Not only did she use the advantage of a dual lightsaber to its fullest effect to defend against their, slightly uncoordinated assault, but her skill with Soresu was enough to defend against even their most complex maneuvers.

Much like her crush, Harry, she never met an attack head-on but rather redirected and deflected them to the side, many times causing her enemies to miss her completely. However, her own skill didn't extend far enough to be as precise as he was plus her wider, less precise lightsaber prevented from such maneuvers from being used effectively.

Instead, her offense consisted of taking advantage of opportunities and causing her enemies to overextend and quickly capitalizing on openings. Her flexibility was a big boon in maneuvering her saberstaff, allowing to bend and twist in ways around it that most couldn't. She had once reluctantly realized that her pole dance training had actually helped in using it successfully. Her chosen lightsaber combat style particularly helped in wielding the saberstaff.

While the Medium Style didn't have real strengths, it didn't have true weaknesses and was a good style to use on less skilled opponents. Only high-tier duelists and gunslingers could break through a skilled Medium-style duelist's defense. And since the style had no weaknesses, it allowed Alema to see the weaknesses in another's style and, in the right circumstances, exploit it. The saberstaff's enlarged defensive surface area giving her time to plan ahead and Harry's explanation on different types of duelist two weeks back helped her identify her opponents' styles.

The one named Cormac was obviously a specialist. He was a purely offensive duelist who used strong, yet slow, blows to overwhelm an opponent's defense. He was more a brute that a real duelist, simply attacking her without any style and grace, hacking away at her to break through with sheer brute force. There was little subtlety in his movements, looking more like a charging rancor trying to just destroy everything in his path than anything else.

Alema saw many large openings in his style that in a one on one duel she could easily exploit and use to end him. However, it wasn't a one on one and his partner seemed well versed in how to cover his friend's weaknesses, attacking her either at the same time as him or just afterwards so she wouldn't be able to counter-attack against him.

Alema then turned to study her other opponent's style.

Unlike Cormac, Zabini was obviously an addition duelist, if a poor one at that. His offensive style consisted of strong yet still slightly fast Djem So blows designed to overwhelm his opponent's defense. However, unlike his partner, his had more grace and was more based around speed than sheer power. He also had a good defense and could defend himself adequately when she went on the offense against him in what she recognized as Soresu defensive maneuvers.

However, her keen eye saw a flaw in his style.

Blaise seemed unable to use both Djem So and Soresu in conjunction, making him seem more like a specialized duelist of two different forms. When he was on the offense, he was completely offensive using only Djem So offensive moves, attacking and leaving small openings in his defense. When he was defensive, he stopped moving almost completely, defending himself without trying to counter-attack. His transition between the two forms was also clumsy, showing he was no master of either and had probably just learned Soresu so he could have a strong defensive form.

As she studied both enemies, a plan started to form in her mind of how to defeat them.

Harry vs Lomi Plo and Draco Malfoy

Harry already had his silver-green lightsaber out, eying both combatants carefully. Lomi had activated a red lightsaber and entered an Ataru opening stance while Malfoy had a single red lightsaber as well. What had Harry wary was that Malfoy was holding it in a familiar Makashi opening stance meaning he at least recognized Makashi enough to employ it. Since one of Harry's advantages was that most duelists didn't recognize Makashi, that took away one of his angles.

Still, he wasn't limited to only Makashi and if his opponent was.... then he might just know how to beat him. Before Harry could speak to off-balance them, both of his enemies attacked simultaneously, telling Harry they had worked together before.

Harry was caught on the defensive as he deflected and redirected their attacks, cursing as Draco's knowledge of Makashi enabled him to predict Harry's moves and react accordingly. Lomi Plo launched a fierce Ataru offensive, using her skill in the form to maintain the offensive and trying to overwhelm his defense while Draco sent precise jabs and cuts when the opportunity arose.

As they fought, Harry studied their styles, trying to find a flaw in them. The girl wasn't a pure Ataru duelist and used Soresu for defense. It was clear she was primarily an Ataru user though as she maintained the offensive barrage most of the time, only defending when necessary. Most of the time Malfoy managed to redirected Harry's jabs and cuts aside so they missed their intended target.

Of the two, the older girl had the more balanced style, heavily leaning toward offense but not so much as she sacrificed her defense. She had some small openings but her partner's presence made taking advantage of them impossible.

Harry analyzed Malfoy next, and quickly came to the conclusion that he was a pure Makashi duelist. His style had no sign of any other form within it, only pure Makashi. He redirected and deflected attacks as defense while returning fire with precise jabs and cuts to targets of opportunity. He was actually pretty good in it and if it hadn't been for his training with the Jensaarai for the past month, Harry would say Malfoy was better than him.

However, Harry quickly caught sight of one glaring weakness in Malfoy's style. One of the tenets of Makashi was to only memorize the maneuver so they became instinctive but not so much that one became a slave to form. Basically, to not respond to similar attacks the same way every time and be able to vary one's offense and defense according to the needs of the moment.

Malfoy, however, redirected every attack the exact same, textbook way, with little to no variation to it. It meant that while he may be good at Makashi, he was not creative enough to apply its techniques and maneuvers in anything but the textbook defined way and it would cost him.

Harry quickly came to the conclusion that he couldn't take both at once. At least not without far too much time passing and risking their leader entering the fight. He doubted he would survive that. Therefore, he needed to find a way to separate them or at least break their rhythm. For the first part, Harry slowly backed up a rocky hill, leading them up it for his planned strategy to separate them. 

For the second part, he started to redirect one's blade to block to the other's, making them slowly lose their flow together as he made them get in each other's way. Dark Jedi hardly ever work well together and it took very little to disrupt what little camaraderie they had.

Harry smirked as he saw his plan working. As they continued to get in each other's way, their teamwork turned sloppy and less precise. Eventually, he no longer had to do much as they got in each other's way by themselves, dropping their danger level significantly. Eventually, Harry blade-locked them both and they were so concentrated on overwhelming him individually instead as a team that neither paid any notice when he shifted slightly. With a powerful kick, Harry sent Malfoy falling down the rocky incline while pushing Lomi off him with Force-imbued strength.

Gripping Lomi through the force before she could react, he slammed her into the rocky ground further down, knocking the breath out of her for a moment. With one opponent down for the moment, Harry concentrated on Malfoy who engaged him soon enough.

Out of the two, Lomi's style was the more distracting of the two and would make it impossible for him to concentrate long enough for the second part of his plan to separate them to pan out.

As Harry dueled with Malfoy, his used the Force to quietly crush the rocks around their feet, turning them into small, yet sharp pebbles. Even after he'd crushed them, he used the Force to keep his grip on them for what he had planned. Eventually, Lomi rejoined the duel and that was when he put his plan into action.

Leaping backwards in a surprising, for Malfoy, who'd thought he was a pure Makashi duelist as well, Ataru leap, Harry further up the hill. He instantly turned off his saber to concentrate on what he was about to do.

The small yet sharp pebbles he'd created hovered in the air in front of him and Malfoy and Plo only had a second for their eyes to widen before those very same pebbles flew toward them at lethal speeds.

Their reactions to the barrage showed their different mindsets as Malfoy sidestepped and avoided the ones he could while using his saber to break the ones he couldn't. Meanwhile, Plo tried to block them with her saber skill alone and barely survived being skewered by a few. Even them, a few managed to get through and hit her right shoulder and left leg. However, Plo was completely unready for Harry's second move. 

Plo looked up in time to see a sphere of transparent, with a blue tinge, Force energy cupped in his hands before it blasted toward her, lifting her up and sending her flying toward the nearby forest where she crashed.

Malfoy eyed where she landed with disdain before turning back to Harry with a sneer. “That was a bad move. Now without her to distract me with her presence, I'll destroy you.”

Harry gave him the Makashi salute in response. “Come and try.” With that, the two Makashi duelists clashed once more.

Alema vs Cormac McLaggen and Blaise Zabini

Alema had been slowly putting her plan into place as the duel went on. As she fought, she had been goading the quiet boy, Zabini, causing him to give into his anger and abandon defense for pure offense much like his friend. At the same time, she'd been mocking the other one, McLaggen's, manhood, saying he probably needed a Twi'lek slave because no real woman would willingly bed him. The only reason she hadn't skewered her yet was because her skill with Soresu was enough to hold them at bay long enough to make sure they'd both abandoned defense completely.

Once she was sure of that, she put her plan into motion.

She quickly changed tactics from pure Soresu defensive screens to pure offense. However, unlike before her offensive style now consisted of a Juyo fury instead of an Ataru one, mixing strength with speed. She had been studying Juyo a little bit, not the entire form but enough to know how to apply certain techniques into her saberstaff combat.

She applied it now, using her usual defensive screens offensively to put them both on the backfoot. They tried to regain the offensive but now even her blocks were offensive as she used brute strength to shunt them aside and attack. She switched her offense from on to the other randomly while using her second lightsaber blade to keep the other at bay, keeping them off-balance.

“What's wrong, boys?” taunted Alema coyly as she continued to attack them. “Am I too much woman for you? Or could it be,” she made a show of gasping. “that you two are secretly a couple?” She gave them a mocking smirk as she redirected a particular strong strike from McLaggen. “I bet Zabini is the girl, isn't he? He probably got lessons from his mother.”

With a roar of rage, Zabini lost all reason. She didn't know what it was about his mother that got him riled up but it worked and he was as brutish as his friend.

This became their downfall when Alema expertly redirected one of Blaise's strong but completely ungraceful and brutish strikes to cut off the top of McLaggen's lightsaber hilt, rendering it inoperable.

Instead of retreating like a sensible person, all of Alema's taunts had enraged him to the point that he instead rushed Alema physically and grabbed her double-bladed lightsaber's handle, holding it horizontally while trying to rip it from her hands. “I got her, Blaise! Finish the bitch!” He probably thought that she would either let go of her lightsaber to avoid being impaled or not and be killed by Blaise.

Under normal circumstances, Blaise would have seen her smirk and been wary. He would have tried to go for an undodgeable slash in her position or even tried to come up from behind her. But in his enraged state he did none of those things. Instead he tried to thrust at her from the front, wanting to see the light fade from her eyes as she died.

Alema showed off her flexibility as she sucked in her stomach and bent to avoid being impaled. However, she then gave the coup de grace when she kicked the hand holding Blaise's lightsaber. His overextended foot placement from the thrust made resisting it impossible and his hand was pushed out, lightsaber and all.... and straight through McLaggen, bisecting him at the chest.

There was a moment of silence from everyone before McLaggen's body fell apart, unmistakeably dead. The fact he had killed his own friend seemed to shock Zabini as he froze, staring at the bisected corpse of his own friend. “Cormac?”

However, Alema was not in the same state of shock and quickly took advantage of Blaise's shock to gather up Force energy before sending him flying with the most powerful Force push she could muster.

Zabini was summarily blasted through the air, having been unable to even mount a defense due to his shock. He flew almost ten yards away before landing at the bottom of rocky incline where Harry was dueling, the rocky landing further injuring him. Alema didn't know if he survived, though she doubted it, but it wasn't her problem.

Alema fell to her knees gasping, the long duel coupled by using so many Force-intensive attacks and maneuvers back to back had left her exhausted. She looked over at where her sister was only to see her missing and Harry standing at the top of a rocky hill finishing his own duel.

Numa vs Vilas and Cho Chang

Numa had managed to lead the fight into the forest where her opponents had followed her, seemingly not caring about the change in venue. This would be their downfall.

Once they were deep enough in the forest, Numa backflipped while turning off her sabers, her blue coloration and the fact it was night making her seemingly disappear in the foliage.

Vilas and Cho tried to follow her to where they thought she'd landed but when they arrived, they found nothing there. Instantly on their guard, the stood back to back as they looked around in slight fear as they finally realized that they had no idea of how to get back.

“Shit! Where did she go?” asked Vilas though clenched teeth. “I can't sense her!”

“I don't know,” responded a slightly unnerved Cho. “She has to be somewhere- look out!”

Cho's warning came barely in time for Vilas to block Numa's picture-perfect Hawkbat Swoop. She then used the momentum to flip over him, land on the ground and then jump back into the tress before the two Dark Jedi could attack.

The two now thoroughly unnerved Dark Jedi looked around in fear as they realized that with the darkness and the canopy blocking even the light of the moon, they were in trouble. This was shown in how Numa continued to attack them just to retreat, sometimes scoring small strikes that just irritated them and other times almost killing them before they could defend themselves.

“Come out, whore!” yelled Cho angrily. “Come and face us or are you too cowardly?!”

There was a beat of silence before there was a thunderous crack. The two Dark Jedi were completely unprepared when they saw a large tree fall almost on top of them, barely dodging out of the way and avoiding being crushed.

Numa jumped out of the foliage onto the fallen tree where Cho was quick to follow. Cho and Numa exchanged lightning-fast lightsaber strikes, Numa only using one lightsaber now instead of two. However, Cho had to adjust some of her Force ability from her Force speed to her Force grip while Numa's balance was perfect due to years of training, both as a slave and as a Jedi.

This resulted in Numa landing a light cut on Cho's left cheek, getting a scream of pain from Cho. “You bitch!” yelled Cho angrily.

Vilas finally joined them, jumping onto the fallen tree with a roar of rage and charging at Numa's back. However, he was completely unprepared when Numa simply thrust her hand in his direction and sent him flying back with a Force push, making him fall off the tree.

Numa then jumped back into the canopy with Cho in hot pursuit, unwilling to let her go now that she had damaged Cho's face. The chase continued through the trees, Cho slowly catching up to Numa.

With a victorious smirk and glare of hate, Cho channeled more Force energy into her legs and jumped toward where Numa landed, closing the distance. “I have you now, bitch!”

However, Cho's heart dropped when she saw Numa smirk. “Game, set and match, bitch!” said Numa victoriously.

Cho thought she'd gone crazy when she seemingly fell to the ground, but quickly found out the truth. Numa had in reality, grabbed the branch she had been standing on, on her knees and swung around it so she was now right under the vulnerable, in the air Cho.

Cho barely had time to scream in pain before Numa lightsaber cut a vicious scar across her face from lower right cheek to upper left temple. Numa then finished it by sending another Force push to help her flight forward. Cho was in so much pain that she couldn't do anything as she smacked from branch to branch, at one point breaking an arm before falling to the forest floor.

Numa was panting and eying her fallen enemy through narrowed eyes. Once sure her enemy was not getting back up, either unconscious or dead she didn't know which, Numa turned to where she felt Vilas approaching and gauged her stamina.

She could probably take Vilas and win but she'd be completely out of strength afterwards and unable to defend herself if another enemy came for her. Considering she had heard one of Harry's enemies land somewhere in the forest not far from here, there was also a chance she'd be double-teamed again and if that happened she'd lose.

Deciding that retreat was the best choice, Numa hid her Force signature and jumped through the trees toward Harry's Force signature. Her sister felt completely tired so if Vilas came after her he would be the best choice for back-up.

With that decided, Numa jumped through the trees, silent as a ghost.

Harry Potter vs Draco Malfoy

A red lightsaber clashed with a silver-green lightsaber in lightning-fast jabs and thrusts, all of which were sidestepped or redirected. The two duelists fought across the rocky incline, Harry a bit higher up for now which gave him the advantage of leverage and position. Draco countered this by aiming at his legs, forcing Harry to either jump or block lest he lost a leg.

As the duel went on, Harry had had to begrudgingly agree with Malfoy's words. It seemed that Plo's presence had forced him to lower his actual skill to match hers and now that she wasn't in the way, he was actually a much better duelist. Harry's equal in terms of sheer skill with Makashi.

Harry could have switched to a more offensive form to take advantage of Makashi's lack of momentum. However, with the unstable rocks beneath him, he didn't dare take the more offensive and fast moves of the other forms, lest he lose his footing which would be the death of him. Malfoy would be quick to take advantage and that would be the end of that.

Another reason was far more personal. He simply didn't want to. He wanted to prove himself the better Makashi duelist than Malfoy. He had never met someone else using Makashi with as much skill as he could and his heart relished the challenge. He wanted to win on dint of sheer skill with Makashi alone and not because he used another, more offensive form.

However, that didn't mean he wouldn't use unorthodox moves and maneuvers to win.

Harry and Malfoy traded another flurry of blows before saber-locking for what felt like the ninth time since they started fighting.

“You ready to surrender, Potter?” said Malfoy with a smug sneer. “When are you going to accept that I'm better than you and just give in already?”

“Sorry,” grunted Harry. “But I'm not into men.” With that, Harry punched Malfoy straight in the face, splitting his lip and staggering him for a moment.

Malfoy quickly recovered and glared at Harry while wiping his bloody lip. “You'll pay for that, Potter! I'll show you how a true duelist fights! Not a barbarian like you!”

Harry just snorted. “The fact you think a punch is a barbaric tactic just goes to show you know nothing about real fights. You may be a duelist, but you're not a fighter.”

Malfoy roared angrily and charged Harry again with a flurry of precise bladework. However, Harry simply deflected and redirected, at one point twisting around a blade-lock to elbow Malfoy in the face. However, Malfoy quickly recovered and attacked Harry viciously, pushing Harry back from his vicious offensive.

They had reached the top of the rocky incline, now on more or less neutral ground. The two exchanged slashes and blows at lightning-fast speeds, sometimes moving so fast that they blurred. Harry tried for more physical blows but Malfoy seemed to have learned his lesson because he simply jumped back to avoid his kicks and he never let Harry be in a position to punch him, eschewing blade-locks.

Eventually, Harry took the offensive, attacking quickly and viciously which pushed Malfoy back slightly. When Malfoy tried to counter-attack, Harry sidestepped his thrust and grabbed his hand, grappling with the slightly smaller boy. Malfoy tried to attack with his saber but Harry blocked with his own easily. Harry eventually tripped Malfoy, causing him to fall on his back as he lost his balance. For a Makashi practitioner, this might as well be a death sentence.

However, Harry was surprised when instead of trying to block Harry's incoming saber, Malfoy instead released a torrent of Force lightning at him, dragging a cry of pain from Harry as he was thrown back. Harry fell on the floor twitching from the surprising and shocking effects of Force lightning in his system. Luckily, he had applied tutaminis to lower the effect it had on him which was the only reason he was able to roll away from Malfoy's slash.

Harry Force-pushed Malfoy away slightly to give him some space and flipped to his feet, once again ready to fight and now more wary of the boy.

Malfoy smirked at Harry's wary gaze. “Surprised? You probably thought I was like the others who are basically just Jedi with red blades and using the dark side. Well, I'm not. I'm better than them! I will learn everything I can from them and once I'm done I'll kill them and then he will find me worthy enough to become his apprentice and I will become a Sith Lord!”

Harry narrowed his eyes at the boy, confused by his statements. “Him? Who are you talking about?”

Malfoy just chuckled. “Wouldn't you like to know? Let's just say that he's far stronger than your precious Daddy could every hope to be.”

Harry's eyes narrowed at the taunt even as he considered the possibility of a Sith Lord out there. It could simply be a bluff but if it wasn't, it was good to be pre-warned. But for now, he had to finish the fight.

Harry and Malfoy exchanged lightsaber blows once more, all while Harry was concentrating on his endgame. When they blade-locked once more, Harry employed his trap.

“AHHH!!” screamed Malfoy as Harry's Force grip on his left wrist crushed the bones with bone-breaking force, rendering that hand useless.

Harry quickly took advantage of Malfoy's distraction and redirected his blade to the side and cut off his leg below the knee. Malfoy immediately lost his balance due to suddenly lacking one leg and tumbled down the rocky incline, bruising himself further before he fell at the foot of the incline.

Harry stiffened when he saw the female leader land beside Malfoy's fallen form, though he relaxed when he felt Numa land beside him. He felt she was not at one hundred percent but she could fight if necessary.

However, it proved unnecessary when Tamith Kai picked up Malfoy's bruised and amputated form and spoke. “We need to retreat,” said Kai with angry eyes as she saw how badly some of her students had been beaten. Blaise had actually landed not far from them, unconscious and bleeding heavily with one of his legs at an awkward angle. “They're more skilled that we expected and if this continues some of you will die and we can't have that.”

“No!” yelled Malfoy angrily, an ugly look on his face as he flared near madly at Harry's form. “I can kill the bastard with one leg! Just watch me!”

“Enough!” yelled Tamith Kai angrily. “The Jensaarai are arriving! We need to retreat. You can get your revenge at a later time. This mission was a failure. We need to collect the others and escape.”

“What makes you think we'll let you go?” asked Harry as behind him, Numa stepped forward to stand beside him. “From my point of view we have the advantage and I'm not willing to let you go so you can cause more misery.”

“Because if you don't,” said Tamith as she pointed a hand at the group of children who had huddled near the Jensaarai exit during the fights, a few of the older ones standing in front to protect them. “I'll have more than enough time to butcher those brats by the time reinforcements arrive.”

The two enemies looked at each other for a moment before Harry clicked his tongue and stepped back in surrender to her point. Their job was to defend the children, not kill the enemy. Plus, the children's lives were much more important than simply killing an already beaten enemy.

Tamith Kai smirked at his choice condescendingly. “Ever the Jedi. Can't make sacrifices for the cause. That's why you're weak.”

Harry narrowed his eyes at the woman but said nothing as a shuttle arrived, picking her and her companions up. Before leaving, Draco sent him a dangerous glare, promising him that this wasn't over, not that he needed to say it.

Harry knew that this was just the beginning.

* * *

** Harry's room, Jensaarai base, Three days later **

Harry was going through his early morning exercises as he thought about the last three days since the attack.

The Saarai-kar, Master Kyle and other Jensaarai had arrived not five minutes after the enemy escaped. The Saarai-kar had been irritated to know the ones responsible escaped but happy that the children hadn't been taken. Kyle had just been glad neither of them were too badly hurt and proud that they had managed to each beat two skilled opponents at once, even if was through the use of tactics rather than skill.

Alema had been hard to console afterwards. With the adrenaline of the fight gone, it had finally sunk in that she'd killed someone. Harry had wanted to comfort her but with everything that happened, it would have felt too awkward so he'd left it in Numa's hands. He had talked to Alema and given her some verbal comfort, which she'd appreciated, but other than that he hadn't really talked much with either of the Rar twins.

This was about to change when he heard someone knock on his door. Wondering who it could be at this early hour, Harry walked over and opened it to reveal Numa standing there.

“Can I come in?” asked Numa quietly.

Harry gulped as he realized that it was time for the talk between that was long in coming and Numa's serious face told him it was not going be a happy one. “Sure.”

Numa stepped into the room and looked around absently before sitting on the bed. Harry, guessing that sitting beside her on the bed was not the best idea, grabbed the desk chair and sat in front of her.

The two (exes?) sat in silence for a moment before Numa spoke. “You know, for a while there I tried to hate you. I told myself that I had done nothing wrong and that everything was your fault and I was the innocent victim.”

“But?” asked Harry gently, wanting to continue the conversation.

“But...” Numa sighed and rubbed her lekku, a nervous gesture he recognized from their short time together. “I realized that you've been treating you pretty badly as well. I forced you to keep our relationship secret even after you told me Alema was interested in you and making her move. You tried to tell me that it was best we tell her rather than keep it secret but I was too cowardly to listen. I kept making excuses and putting it off and basically treating you like dirt, expecting you to be okay with and getting angry at you when you pushed it. You only wanted the right to be with me in public and I punished you for that every time.”

Harry tried not to show any outward sign of his feeling but couldn't help but remember how bitter he'd felt every time she put it off. He had understood at first.... well, not understood but he had been willing at first, thinking it would only be a day or two before she told her sister. However, days had turned into weeks and weeks into months and still she insisted to keep it a secret. By the end, he had been so frustrated and angry at her that he had seriously considered just calling off the entire relationship.

Something must have shown on his face because Numa gave him a sad smile. “I'm sorry about that, Harry. You deserved better than to be treated like something I was ashamed of and hidden away.”

Harry sighed as he let what she said sink in. “Maybe. But you also deserved better than for me to cheat on you just because I was frustrated. I knew in the back of my mind that what I was doing was wrong but due to my frustration and anger at you, I let my dick do the thinking I guess you could say. You deserved better than that and I can never say sorry enough times.”

Numa nodded and smiled sadly. “I guess it's both of our faults in the end.”

They fell silent once more before Harry spoke. “So what now?”

Numa sighed and looked up at him. “Now.... to tell the truth, I like you, Harry. I really do. And I think you like me, right?” Harry nodded in confirmation. “But the problem is that we went about this the wrong way. Not only keeping it a secret but I did it while knowing what Alema felt for you. She may hide it but she's hurt that we kept it from her but especially that I kept it from her. She and I need to fix the damage this did to our relationship. This relationship was doomed to failure from the moment I asked you to keep it a secret.”

“So what does that mean?” asked Harry quietly.

Numa smiled sadly at him. “That for now, we should just stay friends. I forgive you for what you did, Harry. It wasn't right and if I hear you ever did it to another woman I'll neuter you like a dog,” Harry gulped and his eyes widened at the matter of fact way she said it, “but I forgive you.”

“Thanks,” said Harry quietly, knowing it was more than he deserved. Still.... “Would you really neuter me?”

“I thought about it,” admitted Numa, causing him to pale. “I also thought about telling your Mom and letting her punish you.”

At that, Harry actually saw his life flash before his eyes. He did not want to know what his Mom would do if she found out what happened. He'd commit ritual suicide before letting her get her hands on him. It would be less painful by far.

“But,” said Numa with an amused smirk at his horrified face. “Alema convinced me that would be cruel and unusual punishment so I changed my mind. Since both of those were out I decided to forgive you.”

“Thanks... I guess,” muttered Harry, still slightly traumatized at the idea of his mother finding out about this.

“You're welcome,” said Numa in a chipper tone. Her smiled dropped as the silence stretched on, neither knowing what to say. Despite never having any problem talking to each other before, it was like their previous relationship was now an insurmountable wall between them. “This staying friends thing is harder than it sounds isn't it?”

Harry could only nod solemnly at the truth of that statement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And there's chapter 10!
> 
> As you can see, in terms of pure lightsaber skill, Harry's group and the Dark Jedi were all more or less equal and since they were all fighting two-on-one, they would have been overwhelmed if they tried to rely on lightsaber skill alone. So instead of trying to out-fence their opponents, they outwitted them and used terrain and tactics to either separate them or have them defeat each other.
> 
> I hope the whole Harry/Numa/Alema debacle was believable. I don't have a twin myself but I can see two sisters maybe having this problem between them and it causing what just happened. I also want to show that even Harry is human and can make the wrong choices sometimes that cause problems. This is foreshadowing for something that happens in book 2.
> 
> I also hope you understand how Numa was treating Harry badly. It's similar to when a guy is sleeping with a girl but forces her to hide it for one reason or another. Everyone always puts the girl as the victim there due to it being unfair and making her wonder if he's ashamed of her. The same thing applies here only the other way around. Don't be sexist and think it only applies for girls. Us guys have feelings too and if our girl won't admit to being with us.... well, most of us have much less patience than women so Harry lasting two months is a miracle of patience.
> 
> As always, Read and Review!

**Author's Note:**

> AN: And there's chapter 1!
> 
> Those of you who have read my original version for this story can tell the obvious differences. I changed Harry and Jaina's meeting a little and looked up that incident more in-depth to properly describe it. The description of the escape was more detailed for that very reason and I hope you liked the show of Harry's Force powers. In the actual story, Jacen could already do that glowing heat and light thing so it's not that far of a stretch for Harry, who's a year older, to be able to do it.
> 
> As always, Read and Review!


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